


Fighting The Devil Himself

by CorneredTiger9407



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kara Danvers Needs a Hug, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-07 17:15:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 50,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17370104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorneredTiger9407/pseuds/CorneredTiger9407
Summary: Kara Danvers was kidnapped, tortured and experimented on. 2 years later, Kara has nightmares and anxiety surrounding the anniversary. One night, Lena see's first hand why Kara is acting off. Kara leans on Lena to heal.





	1. The Devil Still Has A Hold On Me

**Author's Note:**

> So I'll set all this up. Lena knows Kara is supergirl. In my mind, Season 2 episode 12 had Kara and Lena talking about Kara being Supergirl.  
> Mon-el and Kara never dated.  
> Also, I don't have a Beta, this is all my mistakes, and the first thing I've posted to AO3. But I fully accept any criticism. Even bad criticism. It'll help me be a better writer.  
> You can also find me on Tumblr obsessing over Katie Mcgrath:: CorneredTiger9407

CHAPTER 1

_“Look at you. You’re worthless. You’re weak. It’s so easy to take what we want from you.”_

_Kara screamed as the owner to the voice drilled into her leg._

_“It’s like a never-ending source of data. We keep you hooked up to that IV and give you just enough nutrition to sustain your alien biology, turn on those sun lamps for a little while, and you’re healed up enough for us to go again. All it takes is a little kryptonite and keeping you out of the sun for a month. What Lex and Lillian wouldn’t give to see you like this. A super screaming and crying, completely at my mercy.”_

_The drill clattered onto the metal table to her right, Kara tensing at the sound, struggling against the restraints holding her down, the kryptonite in the cuffs burning her wrists._

_“We’ve studied your blood, your bone marrow, all of your organs, and yet there’s one thing I’ve held off on. I’ve saved it for last. I didn’t want to taint the results in case this ruins your body.”_

_Kara turned to look at the figure, his back to her as he prepared his next experiment. He turned around, the doctor’s mask still hiding most of his face, all except his eyes. The eyes she has seen for five straight months now. The eyes of the devil himself. The difference this time was the green glow coming from the syringe in his hand. Kara’s eyes widened, struggling even more against her restraints._

_“No, please no.” the plea slipping out from her lips._

_He reached forward, pushing her head to the side and holding it still._

_Kara struggled, knowing in her mind that she couldn’t escape, but she wouldn’t take it without a fight. The amount of kryptonite in the needle already making her feel like she wanted to throw up. She felt the needle go into her neck, the first small amount of kryptonite making its way into her veins. She whimpered, feeling the substance being pushed slowly into her bloodstream. A scream tore from her throat, the pain being too much to stop it from coming out as he pushed the plunger on the syringe, the entire amount of kryptonite surging into her veins._

“Kara”

“ _Amazing. I thought for sure you would pass out from that. Even your tears have a green tint to them.”_

_Kara panted, the tears burning as they trailed down her face._

“KARA WAKE UP”

_“I wonder what liquid kryptonite does to your skin?”_

Kara sat up, a scream tearing from her throat as she came back to consciousness, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

“Kara…” A voice softly whispered from beside her. Flinching away from it, a whimper coming from deep within her, her eyes screwing shut and her legs coming up as she curled into a ball.

“It’s Alex, Kara. You’re safe.” The voice said again, still a whisper, like she’s trying to calm a wild animal.

Kara opened her eyes, adjusting quickly to the barely lit room. Looking to her right, she saw Alex sitting on her bed, her hands up and concern written on her face.

Tears formed as Kara locked eyes with Alex, a sob escaping her as she flung herself across the bed into Alex’s arms.

“Shh, Kara. It’s ok. You’re safe here. I got you.” Alex clutched at Kara, one hand stroking her hair, the other rubbing her back. She fought against the tears threating to spill at Kara’s pain.

Slowly, Kara calmed down, relaxing into Alex.

“I’m sorry” came a muffled voice.

Alex pulled at Kara until she was sitting up again, her hands finding Kara’s face as she made Kara look her in the eyes, her thumbs wiping away the tear tracks.

“You do not have to apologize Kara. You have nothing to be sorry for. You are allowed to have feelings. You are allowed to cry. You won’t heal unless you feel these emotions. I stayed the night for you. You’re my sister and you’re hurting. I love you too much to let you try to go through this alone and shove it down.” Alex leaned forward and kissed Kara’s forehead, pulling her into a hug.

“I love you, Alex.”

“I love you more, Kara.”

_~~_

Kara walked into Lena’s office, a smile lighting up at seeing Lena relaxed on her couch reading, instead of sitting stiffly behind her desk.

“Knock knock!” Kara’s voice rang out, causing Lena to look up from her report and smile.

“Hey, you! We didn’t have lunch plans, did we?” Lena said, her smile slipping into a confused glance at her watch.

“Oh no, I finished my article and Snapper was yelling at every person he came across so I thought I would come see if you wanted some company? I can start working on my next article if you still need to work, I just couldn’t handle all the yelling.” Kara’s smile faltered a little.

“Of course, Kara. Come and sit, I still need to finish my reports, and I have a video conference with some clients in fifteen minutes, then I’m all yours. I don’t mind you using my office as an escape. I can’t promise you won’t have some angry words being spoken once the meeting starts, but I highly doubt it’ll be up to Snapper’s yelling.” Lena stood up, grabbing a couple of glasses and the pitcher of water from her bar, pouring them both a glass before sitting back down next to Kara.

“Thanks Lena. I promise, they won’t even know I’m in your office.” Kara pulled out her laptop from her bag, setting it up on the coffee table.

~~

Both women sat in silence, the only sounds in the office were the rustling of pages and scratching of a pen on the documents Lena were working on, and the keys of Kara’s laptop. This was what Kara needed to calm down again. After a particularly bad week with nightmares, and then Snapper yelling, Kara was trying hard to fight down her anxiety. It was nearing the two-year mark since her kidnapping and Kara was fighting to keep her life on track. But the silence she was relaxing into was bound to have an end.

Kara jumped at the beep coming from across the room. “Ms. Luthor, your meeting starts in two minutes.” Jess’ voice comes from the phone on the desk.

Lena cuts her eyes at Kara, noticing how off Kara seemed. “Thank you Jess.” A click followed her response as Jess turned off the intercom.

“Kara, are you ok?” Lena asked, her hand falling to Kara’s knee.

Kara looked up, meeting the bright green eyes of her best friend, concern evident on her face. For a fleeting second, Kara felt like crying and telling Lena everything. She spent so much time hiding what happened, only having Alex to lean on, that the idea of Lena knowing was tempting. But she had a meeting to start, so Kara put on her smile, nodded and put her hand on top of Lena’s, squeezing it very carefully. “I was just in the zone. I’m not used to hearing Jess when I’m writing. Go, be a badass. Try not to make them cry.”

Lena smiled, not totally convinced, but Kara would tell her what was going on when she was ready. She stood, moving to her desk and opening the folder sitting there. She leaned to the drawer on the side of her desk, pulling out a remote and turning on the television on the wall. Lena appeared on the screen, the webcam being the only thing connected. Kara smiled as she watched Lena adjust herself in her seat, her poise now screaming CEO. Pressing a button on the keyboard, the tv on the wall went dark for a second before the faces of several men gathered around a table appeared.

“Hello gentlemen.” Lena said, her voice commanding attention. Kara looked back down at her laptop, finishing up the rough outline of an article she was getting ready to start on.

~~

Kara had pulled her laptop into her lap as she sat with her legs crossed on Lena’s office couch. It was easy to get lost back into her work, Lena and the men on the tv blending into the background. It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later that Kara started to notice something was wrong. She glanced up over her screen to see Lena had leaned back into her seat and crossed her arms. She tuned into the conversation, wondering what the problem was.

“-not what we meant. It’s not that you’re a woman- “

“That’s exactly what you meant. You have a problem that I am a woman and yet I refuse to agree to your views. You want me to just agree blindly, because what, you’re a man? I’ve never followed a man in my life. What you’re proposing is atrocious. Did you honestly expect me to agree to spending two million dollars on an experimental part, that” Lena reached over and grabbed a paper from the folder next to her, “has wielded only one partially successful run after 100 trial runs?” The paper was thrown back to the desk, Lena crossing her arms again. “Honestly, if you wanted to insult me, you could have sent me an email and not wasted my time. I am not naïve, and I am surely not struggling and desperate enough to buy a faulty part.”

“Your brother never had a problem with our business.”

Kara’s eyes widened. Surely this man had a death wish.

Lena’s eyes narrowed. She unfolded her arms and stood, grabbing the remote and switching to a wide angle of her office, the sound of her heels filling the silence as she walked around her desk and closer to the screen. Kara could see the other men in the video, two of them had their head down in their hands, one with his mouth open as he stared at the apparent leader of the group, the leader himself was standing, his hands on the table.

Lena stopped in the center of her office, folding her hands together in front of her, looking every bit the powerful CEO.

“My brother may not have had a problem with your business, but that should say enough. You’re saying your product was good enough for a madman that had lost touch with reality. I wasn’t put in this position because of my name, Mr. Miller. I was made CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company because of my ability to run said company, not because of my last name. I was set to take over this company within two years, before Lex went mad. That being said, even having me take over two years ahead of time, I have tripled the revenue of this company and turned it into something quite good. So, thank you for your time, but your contract will no longer continue with L-Corp.” Lena lifted the remote to the tv, hitting a button and causing the screen to go black.

Lena stood there for a few seconds, staring at the black screen.

“Well. I need a drink now.” Lena said, turning and raising an eyebrow at Kara, a silent question being asked.

“I’m good, but I think you need a better drink than sitting in your office. You need to escape, at least for a couple hours because that was a low blow.” Kara closed her laptop, shoving it into the bag and standing, waiting for Lena to make the first move towards the door.

With a smirk on her face, Lena walked over to her desk to put down her remote and get her phone and purse out of her drawer before walking to the doors.

“Jess, I’m leaving for the day. I suggest you do too.”

“Yes Ms. Luthor! I’ll finish up shortly!” Jess said, smiling at Kara. Anytime Kara could get Lena to leave the office before 2am was a win.

The two women stepped into the elevator, Lena already relaxing out of the CEO persona.

~~

“Kara, I wanted to thank you” Lena said, as they settled into the back of her car. The driver starting out to the alien bar Kara gave him the address to.

“What do you need to thank me for?” Kara asked, turning in her seat to look at Lena.

“You’re a good friend. I haven’t had someone to lean on, ever, and you are really easy to just relax into. I don’t think you understand how much I appreciate your friendship. I’m not used to having friends, so I apologize if I ever seem like I take advantage of you.” Lena was looking down at her hands curled together in her lap.

“Lee, you never seem to take advantage of me. Why would you think this?” Kara said, reaching over to grab Lena’s hands.

Lena looked up, meeting Kara’s bright blue eyes. “It’s just, after Mr. Miller brought up my brother, I just wanted to make sure you knew I appreciated you. I never had someone in my corner like Lex did. He had people always supporting him, somehow.” Lena scoffed, the idea of Lex having people to support him, even as he become insane, was slightly funny.

“Lena, you’re my best friend. Short of you killing a puppy, I will always have your back. Know that.”

Lena smiled at Kara, turning her hand just enough so that they were now holding hands, silence engulfing the car as they made their way to the bar.

~~

Kara walked into the bar, followed by Lena. Waving at the bartender, the two girls sat at the end of the bar, ordering the first of many drinks. Conversation flowed easily between the two women, only stopping briefly as Alex, Maggie and Winn joined them. Hours passed, Lena and Alex becoming quite drunk, much to the amusement of the rest of the gang. Before they knew it, it was close to midnight, Winn leaving Kara and Maggie to herd Lena and Alex home.

Knowing with how drunk Lena seemed to be, Kara refused to let her go to her apartment alone. Thinking it would be a better idea, Kara scooped up Lena, flying to her own apartment, Lena asleep in her arms long before they even landed. Carrying Lena into her bedroom, Kara pulled back the sheets, laying Lena down. She leaned down, taking off Lena’s heels and belt before pulling the covers back over her, watching Lena curl onto her side, clutching the pillow under her head. Smiling, Kara walked into the kitchen, getting a bottle of water and some painkillers she keeps for Alex and sets them down on the nightstand next to Lena. Kara walks into the bathroom, changing before crawling into the bed next to Lena, comforted by having someone else next to her.

_Kara cried out as the knife cut across her stomach. Clenching her jaw, she snapped her mouth shut, refusing to scream and give him the satisfaction. Clenching her hands into fists, her entire body rigid as she fought the tears in her eyes, she endured another cut, deeper this time as he poked in her abdomen._

_“Interesting. Your body is anatomically the same as a humans.” He began cutting further up her abdomen, exposing more of her insides. Kara cried out again, the pain being too much to handle as the edges of her vision danced with black._

_“Ah Ah. Can’t have you escaping into the blackness now.” He said, backing away from her bleeding body. He reached onto the table, grabbing a syringe and injecting it into the IV that was in her arm. Kara felt her heart begin to race, the edges of her vision clearing and the pain coming back to the forefront of her mind._

_“Adrenaline, my dear alien. I need to know every little detail of what happens to you.” He reached forward and plunged his hand into Kara’s abdomen, causing Kara to scream._

 

Lena woke up, confused for a minute at where she was and why she woke up. Sitting up slightly she recognized the rack of clothing against the wall. She was at Kara’s apartment. Looking around she noticed the water bottle and pills sitting next to the bed. Shaking her head, she reached over and took the pills, glad she had Kara in her life. Lena turned back to the bed, looking over at Kara sleeping next to her. She wasn’t surprised, they’ve slept in the same bed several times, what surprised her was the sweat covering Kara’s forehead. She didn’t look peaceful, she looked like she was in pain. Lena reached over, intending to wake Kara when she was stopped by a whimper.

Lena was confused, Kara didn’t seem like the type to get nightmares. She was too optimistic and bright. But she sat here, as Kara started to turn her head side to side, the whimpering becoming almost constant. Knowing better than to startle someone out of a nightmare Lena started softly.

Reaching over, she ran a finger down the side of Kara’s sweat soaked face, whispering her name. Kara just whimpered in return, thrashing more in her sleep, the covers being kicked further down the bed.

“Please” Kara spoke out, pleading with the monsters in her mind. Lena’s heart broke seeing her best friend, her constant ray of sunshine plagued by her own mind. Crossing her legs, she leaned over again, saying Kara’s name just a little louder, needing Kara to hear her over the voices in her mind. Touching her bicep Lena tried again.

“Kara, It’s Lena. You’re having a nightmare darling, wake up.”

Kara pleaded with her monsters again, struggling against some invisible force. Deciding to try harder, Lena grabbed Kara’s arm, saying her name with force.

“KARA. WAKE UP.”  Lena breathed out a sigh of relief at Kara’s eyes snapping open. “Kara” she breathed out, only to jerk away as Kara jumped out of bed, knocking into the wall across her apartment and curling into a ball. Lena jumped up, rushing over to her, stopping at the edge of the couch as she heard Kara’s voice.

“No please. Not again. I don’t want to hurt again. Please I’ll tell you whatever you want, I’ll explain my biology and my planet. Just no more. Please.”

Lena’s heart shattered. Kara lay on the floor crying, looking like she expected to be hit, or worse. Crouching low, Lena stayed where she was, not wanting to make Kara more afraid.

“Kara, it’s Lena. You’re in your apartment. You’re safe. Look at me darling. I want you to see me. Come back to me. You’re not in that place anymore.” Lena whispered, almost sighing with relief as Kara peeked out from under her arms, tears streaming down her face.

“Lee?” Kara’s voice was so small, so broken. Lena just wanted to rush to Kara and hold her and cry with her.

“Yeah, Kara. It’s me. You’re safe.” Lena whispered again, leaning forward slightly and holding out her hand. Hoping to coax Kara up off the floor. Lena didn’t expect to suddenly be sitting on the floor, her arms full of a shaking Kryptonian. Recovering quickly, Lena started stroking Kara’s hair and rubbing her back as Kara cried into Lena’s chest.

“Shhh. I got you Kara. You’re safe, love.” Switching into a maternal mode she didn’t know she possessed, Lena started humming a lullaby. Somewhere deep in her memories she pulled the melody, feeling a distinct pull towards green lands and feeling carefree.

Slowly, Lena felt Kara relax in her arms, the crying turning into hiccups and broken sobs, finally turning into silence. Lena sat there, still humming and comforting Kara, knowing she’ll come back up when she was ready.

The minutes passed, Lena feeling Kara tensing up, preparing herself to sit back up and face the world around her. Slowly, Kara started to sit up, Lena refusing to let go though. As Kara sat up fully, Lena let her hands run down Kara’s arms, stopping only to grab one hand, her other hand stopping on Kara’s leg, letting her warmth be a grounding experience. She caught Kara’s tear-filled eyes, getting lost in the bright blue and seeing the fear and sadness swirl around in her eyes.

“I won’t push you to talk. Just know I’m here for you when you’re ready.” Lena said, squeezing Kara’s hand and leg.

Nodding, Kara cracked a small smile, grateful at having Lena in her life. Breathing in deeply, Kara stood, pulling Lena up with her and into a proper hug.

“Thank you, Lena.” Kara whispered into Lena’s neck, so lowly that Lena wouldn’t have heard her if Kara wasn’t basically in her ear.

~~~~~~


	2. The Devil Can't Keep Us Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara tells Lena generally what happened to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a scene of torture, not experimentation. All flashbacks are in italics, so if you want to skim past it, you can. It was actually a little hard to write, so it may be hard to read for some.  
> Again, all mistakes are mine and I apologize. I try to re-read before posting, but I may miss some.

Morning came slowly for Kara and Lena. Kara, not being able to face having another nightmare, sat on her couch staring at the television, not actually watching what was on. Lena, being the good friend she was, sat with Kara on the couch, leaning into Kara to provide comfort while her mind raced with all the possibilities of what happened. Neither of the women noticed the first rays of sunlight streaming in through the windows. It wasn’t until Lena’s phone started vibrating with emails and texts that the women stirred. Kara looked around in confusion, wondering how much time had passed while they sat there in silence.

Sighing, Lena stood up and stretched, walking straight for Kara’s kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Kara asked, her voice sounding almost normal again.

“Cooking breakfast. Isn’t this how we normally do? You let me crash at your apartment, and as a thank you, I cook breakfast.” Lena’s voice carrying through the apartment easily, even with the pots and pans being placed on the stove and the refrigerator door opening and closing. Kara smiled, feeling better that Lena was moving right past what happened during the night.

“Well, if you’re cooking, I’m showering first.” Kara said, rushing into the bathroom to hide away under the water, at least for a little while.

Once Kara started the water in the bathroom, Lena let out a breath. She promised she wasn’t going to push Kara for information, but it was hard to do, especially seeing her best friend in so much pain. Letting the familiarity of cooking take over her, Lena allowed herself to get lost in cooking breakfast.

~~

After setting out enough food to probably feed half the apartment building, Lena sat at the bar, drinking coffee and going through the early morning emails piling up already, glancing up just long enough to grab a muffin.

Kara walked into the kitchen, seeing Lena already starting her work day and completely destroying the muffin she had in front of her.

“I know you made all of this so technically I can’t tell you how you should eat, but you do have to bring the food to your mouth to eat it, not just break it apart and make a mess on the countertop.” Kara teased, pulling down a plate and piling food onto it.

Lena glanced down, chuckling at the mess she had made. Sweeping up the crumbs, Lena threw away the destroyed muffin.

“You’re right. Nervous habit, I guess. I had every intention of actually eating that, but it looks more like I would have had to shovel it into my mouth rather than chew anything.”

Kara sat down beside Lena and started to eat, barely chewing her food before already taking her next bite. Lena just shook her head before reaching for a new muffin, taking a sip from her coffee, and starting back on her emails.

The women sat at the bar in silence, Kara finally slowing down enough that she started processing what she wanted to say.

“Hey Lee?” Kara started poking at the eggs left on her plate, her nerves blocking her from eating anymore.

“Hmm?” Lena didn’t even glance up from what she was reading. She continued pulling pieces off the muffin, this time actually eating them.

Kara waited a couple minutes, gathering her inner strength.

“I was kidnapped, tortured, and experimented on.”

Lena stilled, no longer reading the email. Her other hand was frozen between the muffin and her mouth. She didn’t expect Kara to talk about it this morning. Not with it still so fresh from last night, but it seemed that once Kara started, the floodgates opened.

“They held a little girl at gunpoint. They had her on a video stream. If I didn’t get into the van, they were going to kill her. That’s what they told me. So, I went. The moment I sat in the van they put kryptonite cuffs on me. The entire way to this building in the run-down area of National City I thought to myself, ‘You really messed up. Nobody knows where you are. Now they have kryptonite and you’re useless against it.’  I followed them down into a bunker lined with lead. When the door closed behind me, I knew I was doomed. There stood the little girl, only she wasn’t the innocent child on the video. A second later, that little girl morphed into a man, a smile on his face that sent shivers down my spine. This other man then walked out, dressed in scrubs and a mask covering half his face. He didn’t say anything to me. He just had me brought into a cell. I was left there, alone, for a month. Food was sent down a chute in the wall and I had a steady stream of water from a faucet in the wall that drained into the floor.” Kara stared down at her food, her eyes unfocused as she went back into the place in her mind.

Lena wanted to reach out, to grab Kara’s hand, but she was too shocked to move, she just stared at Kara’s profile, waiting for her to continue.

“I was so weak when they finally returned. The food they gave me barely kept me sustained, and without the sun and the kryptonite bracelets, my body used up everything it had to keep me going. I guess he figured I was weak enough to be controlled. He showed up, his men taking me to another room and throwing me onto a table before strapping me down. He finally spoke then; his voice sends chills down my spine to this day. He said ‘Welcome to the play room, Kara. I’m going to have so much fun in here.’” Kara shuddered, the memory becoming difficult to work through. Lena finally broke through her shock and reached over, grabbing Kara’s hand.

Kara, slightly startled that Lena reached out, looked up at Lena, not sure what to expect. Looking at her were green eyes that held no reservations, no judgements. Kara knew that if she wanted to stop, she could, and Lena wouldn’t push any. Sighing, Kara looked down at their hands, willing herself to keep going, at least to give her a general idea of what happened.

“That day, he didn’t really hurt me. He just took basic samples; blood, saliva, and hair. It wasn’t until later that he started hurting me. Over the course of the five months, he kept me on the edge of death. One day would be torture, just to remind me who was in charge. The next he would do experiments, he said he wanted to learn about my alien biology. He would cut me open, and when I started to bleed out, he would give me extra nutrition and turn on artificial sun lamps. He would keep them on long enough I healed up and regained consciousness, before starting over again. This continued every day until the DEO found me. His last experiment before they found me, actually killed me. In an effort to bring me back, he brought too much attention to himself, overusing the sun lamps. Winn was able to pick up on the extended energy drain it caused.  This was two years ago. In three days, it will be exactly two years since I got into that van.” Kara stared at a spot on the counter, trying to ground herself and not lose herself in her memories.

Lena couldn’t find anything to say. What do you say when you learn of your best friend being tortured? ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t cut it this time. Instead Lena just squeezed Kara’s hand, causing their eyes to meet.  Slowly, so she wouldn’t startle Kara, Lena stood, stepping forward between Kara’s legs and hugging her, Kara’s arms going around Lena’s middle, while Lena put as much feeling into the hug as she could possibly muster. They stood there, not caring about time. Not caring about how Lena’s chest was now wet from Kara’s crying, or how Kara could feel Lena’s silent tears falling onto her back. The two of them stayed curled around each other until Lena finally seemed to find the words she wanted.

Pulling back, Lena grabbed Kara’s face, causing the Kryptonian to look up at her. Leaning forward, Lena pressed a kiss to Kara’s forehead before bringing her head down and leaning it against Kara’s, whispering into the space between them, “I’m glad you’re safe now. I vow to always protect you.”

~~

Kara expected Lena to treat her differently now that she knew, and Lena did, but in a good way. She didn’t seem to step on eggshells, scared to set Kara off, she was just mindful of certain things that caused Kara to tense up. Loud noises when it was otherwise quiet, raised voices, and darkness were her worst set offs. Lena seemed to spend more time at Kara’s though. The two women finding some sort of routine.

Lena came over to Kara’s again after that first night, knocking on the door later than normal people would. Kara stood, rushing to open the door after she saw what Lena had in her arms.

“Pizza and pot stickers!?” the door flew open, the force of it causing Kara’s hair to fly wildly before settling back in place.

With a smirk on her face and one eyebrow raised, Lena held out the offerings, Kara taking them quickly and bringing them to her kitchen. “Well, hello to you too Kara. How are you? How was your day? I had quite the boring day at the office without you around this time.” Lena’s voice seemed to follow Kara as Lena closed the apartment door, setting her purse down and kicking off her heels.

Kara tensed, turning slowly with a slice of pizza already in her mouth, a sheepish smile on her face. A muffled “sorry” came from around the food before Kara chewed quickly, clearing her mouth. “Hi, Lena! I’m sorry, that was rude. Thank you for bringing me food!”

Lena chuckled. Honestly Kara was like a small child sometimes, she had to be reminded of her manners.

“To answer your questions, I’m fine, I had a busy day as Supergirl. Snapper hated my articles, I think I may need to get him a massive supply of red pens for Christmas. Honestly, I think he used an entire pen on just one article. He wrote in more notes than I had words on the entire paper!” Kara, now forced to slow down and talk around eating, sat next to Lena at the counter.

Lena reached for the bag of Chinese, not wanting her own food to get cold.

“If he gives you too much trouble, I can always find a Luthor minion to take him out.” Lena shrugged, nonchalant about possibly hiring an assassin.

Kara scoffed, the idea of Lena stooping low enough to hire an assassin was almost funny.

“It’s fine. I have my own assassin I can call in. Well, former assassin. But she could scare him enough to make him think she was going to kill him. She’s a real badass like that. She would probably find it fun.” Kara shrugged, mirroring Lena.

Silence hung between the women, Lena once again caught off guard, her chopsticks halfway to her mouth as she stared at Kara who didn’t stop eating the entire time.

“You know an assassin? A female assassin? Should I be jealous? Also, Kara Danvers did you just say badass?”

Smiling, Kara turned to Lena. “Yeah, Sara. She was trained by and worked for the league of assassins until it became too much. Then she worked with Oliver as a vigilante before becoming part of The Legends. I wonder what time they are in right now? They always end up in the coolest periods of time. Even their costumes are great!”

Lena’s mouth dropped open. Kara was telling her that time travel was real. Kara shrugged it off, turning back to her food, not realizing the struggle Lena was going through next to her.

“I don’t think you need to be jealous of Sara. She seemed more interested in Alex when we went to their Earth. They had a one-night stand before Barry and Iris’s wedding. Well, what was supposed to be their wedding. Nazi’s ruined that.” Kara continued, finally seeming to slow down from eating enough to look at Lena, a laugh coming out as she took in Lena’s face.

Lena sat there, her eyes wide and mouth open, her food forgotten on the counter next to her. Lena met Kara’s eyes, drawn in by the smile. Taking a breath, she started in on Kara.

“You mean to tell me; time travel is an option, the multiverse isn’t just a theory, and you’ve done both and are just NOW telling me about this?”

Kara grinned, throwing her hands up. “whoops?”

Not letting Kara get away with a “whoops”, Lena grabbed Kara by the arm, dragging her into the living room. The women sat there for hours as Kara endured Lena’s interrogation, a passing thought that ‘Alex would be proud of Lena’s tactics.

~~

Hours later, after both women had changed and showered, Lena finally seemed to run out of questions, glancing at her watch, she started. It was nearing 2 in the morning. Neither woman had gotten much sleep the night before, and it was much too late for her to go back to her apartment across town, only to get a couple hours of sleep before going back to L-Corp.

“Ok Kara, let’s go to bed.” Kara, who had laid across the couch, her head in Lena’s lap, whined, causing Lena to chuckle.

“No. I’m sleeping right here, you’re comfy.” Kara rolled to her side, her face coming to rest on Lena’s stomach, her arms wrapping around Lena.

“Well, you might be comfortable, but I can’t sleep standing up. Come on, to bed with you.”

Kara huffed, not wanting to get up. Lena was right though, neither of them would be comfortable on the couch. Looking up at Lena from where she was, she saw Lena raise an eyebrow at her, silently commanding Kara to get up.

An idea formed in Kara’s head, a smirk coming to rest on her face.  Kara grabbed Lena tighter, not waiting to hear a warning, and flew them both to the bedroom, Lena barely able to get a small scream out before she was dumped onto the bed, her heart racing at the sudden movement. Feeling a weight still on her, she looked down, Kara still clutched around her stomach, the only difference was Lena was now laying down.

“Kara, I swear to God, give me some kind of warning before flying me anywhere! You’re going to give me a heart attack one day!” Lena relaxed back into the bed, the mild annoyance draining from her body as Kara shifted slightly, the weight comforting.

“I told you, you are comfy, and I didn’t want to move. Now go to sleep, Lee.” Kara snuggled further into Lena, causing the woman to chuckle slightly.

Lena brought her hand up to Kara’s hair, idly running her fingers through it. “Fine, I can’t be mad at you when you look like a kitten curled up on me. Goodnight, Kara.” Lena closed her eyes, a small smile still on her face as she ran her fingers through Kara’s hair.

“Goodnight, Lee.” Kara whispered back, relaxing fulling into Lena. Kara lay there, enjoying the comforting presence of Lena, her heart filling with warmth at how Lena seemed to know exactly what Kara needed, before Kara even knew.

Kara studied Lena’s face, fulling understanding how young Lena really was. She looked ten years younger when she was relaxed, not having to put on a front for Kara. Her face was soft, the tension and stress leaving her face and shoulders. Kara tuned into Lena’s heartbeat, slow and steady, as was her breathing. Kara let her mind wander for a few minutes, realizing how much she cared for Lena. She felt safe laying here, Lena’s hand slowing as sleep started creeping in. Knowing Lena was probably not aware of anything anymore, Kara let the last of her tension go and closed her eyes.

Whispering into the night, Kara took a chance at the words swirling around in her chest. “I love you, Lena.” Sighing Kara let the darkness surrounding her mind come closer, not really wanting to sleep, but knowing she needed to.

Not realizing she said it loud enough to be heard, she tensed slightly hearing Lena answer her. “I love you too, Kara,” before the woman went completely silent, her hand stopping as sleep took over both of them.

~~

_Kara sat on the mattress in the corner of her cell, fighting sleep. When she fell asleep, He would wake her up, the sound coming from speakers she couldn’t find. It made her head feel like it was being ripped open._

_Feeling her head dropping forward, Kara jumped up. She couldn’t sleep if she was pacing her cell. Six steps before she turned around and walked to the opposite wall. She felt like a caged animal. Another six steps before she made it to the wall again. Standing there, she stared at the concrete, running her hand over it. There were no seams, nothing she could pick at to try to break out. Kara walked around the entire cell, keeping her hand on the wall the entire time. Six steps, turn, six more steps, turn. Again and again Kara walked the cell, wishing she had something to do._

_Tiring of inspecting the same gray walls, Kara sat back down on the mattress, letting her mind wander. She wondered what day it was. How long had she been gone? Had Alex given up on finding her? No. Alex would die before she stopped looking. She wondered if Kal-el was looking for her too, or did he even know? It’s not like they talked but maybe one every few months, even then it was just an email checking in. Surely J’onn was keeping up her Supergirl appearances._

_Before she knew it, the earsplitting ringing was causing her to grab her head, the pain becoming immediate. Kara started counting, he kept it on for one minute. Just 60 seconds and then He would leave her be until she became still enough, He thought she was asleep again. Kara wondered how long this would last. How long could she go without sleep?_

_Reaching sixty, Kara waited for the sound to stop, only this time it didn’t. She started counting again. Reaching sixty for the second time, Kara started feeling a pit of dread form in her stomach. She kept counting. After six minutes, the sound stopped, and Kara finally sobbed in relief. She was seeing spots and the room moved around her. She sat up, holding her head in her hands and cried, her ears still ringing from the prolonged exposure._

_Finally opening her eyes and looking around the room, she whimpered when she turned to the door of her cell. Scrambling back onto the mattress, she curled into a ball in the corner. He stood there, a smile on his face. The door to her cell opened, Thing One and Thing Two walking in to grab Kara up from the floor._

_She kicked out, not wanting to go back to The Play Room. She just wanted to sleep. The two men easily grabbed her legs, one of them holding her legs as the other grabbed her around her chest, his arm clenching her to him like a bar._

_They carried her up the stairs, but at the end of the hall they took a left instead of a right. She wasn’t going to The Play Room. The thought of something new caused ice to flood Kara’s veins. She struggled more, hoping to get some satisfaction if she could hurt one of them, even just the slightest._

_Stopping in front of a metal door, He walked in front of them, pulling a key from his lab coat. The door swung open, a light turning on automatically, giving Kara her first look at this new hell. Kara’s eyes widened as she took in the room, her eyes raking quickly over every surface. It was a dungeon. There were shackles on every wall, instruments Kara was scared to know what for were attached to every wall. In opposite corners there were drains sunk into the floor. The worst was in the middle of the room. Hanging from the ceiling were chains, a hook moving ever so slightly in a breeze she couldn’t feel._

_Kara looked at Him, her eyes wide with fear. He smiled nodding to the men holding her and they started towards the room. Kara found a strength inside her she didn’t think she had. She started kicking and flailing, using every bit of strength she had left in her body._

_She started screaming now, not even sure what her pleas were. She switched wildly between Kryptonese and English, but the inflection was still the same. She didn’t want to go in there. In her mind, she was able to handle the experiments. It was unethical, but knowing science as she did, she understood the reasoning behind it, even if He was a madman for seeing her as nothing more than something to poke and prod. But this, this was just torture, plain and simple. He wanted to do this for his own fun._

_The two brutes holding her never stopped moving, Kara’s flailing got worse, her voice now cracking at being overused. Stopping once they reached the center of the room, the one holding her feet let them drop onto the floor. Kara stood at an awkward angle, the second thug not letting her stand straight. He walked into the room, stripping his lab coat off and setting it on a couch near the door. He walked towards her reaching for the chain hanging above her._

_Kara kicked out, satisfied as her feet landed a solid kick into his ribs, a grunt leaving him as he fell sideways. If the thug holding her was going to hold her still, she was going to use it against him._

_“You’re going to pay for that, Kara.” He said, dusting himself off as he stood back up. Nodding towards where the first man must have walked to, Kara felt the fear returning more as her arms were jerked above her head, the sound of clicking reaching her ears._

_Looking up, Kara stared as the cuffs she had around each wrist were clicked together, a button being pressed on the side of the metal. Struggling to separate her arms, Kara heard a chuckle. Looking down her body at Him, she found the source of the laughter._

_“Magnets my dear. So strong they have to be insulated, otherwise they would never come apart. I worked on those cuffs for years, intending to use them on your cousin. But you, you’re so new, so easy to sway with the sad stories.”_

_Kara gasped as she felt the chain tighten around her wrists. Suddenly the iron hold on her chest was gone, and Kara struggled to catch herself, her arms immediately tingling at being forced to stay above her head._

_He started walking towards the wall, pushing a button hidden in the middle of all the instruments surrounding it. Kara felt the chain tighten, pulling her arms up, her feet stretching to stay on the floor. The chain stopped, just before the tips of her toes came off the floor._

_He walked back to the center of the room, stopping in front of Kara. She glared at him, wishing she had access to her heat vision. She heard shuffling behind her, but she refused to look away, pouring all the hate she had for this man into her glare._

_His smile clued her in that something was about to happen. He reached out with his right hand, taking what was brought to him. Looking down, Kara’s eyes widened as she looked at the whip he held. Suddenly she felt one of the men grabbing the back of the thin shirt she wore, ripping it open. Kara felt the ice return to her veins as He started running the whip through his hand, the gleam in his eye causing her to shake. He walked slowly around her, his hand now trailing around her stomach and side before running up her exposed back._

_“Rip the rest of it off. Leave the underclothes for now. I’m not ready for her to break completely yet.”_

_Kara gasped at the feeling of her pants being pulled off her, her arms screaming in pain at being forced to hold all of her body weight. Her shirt was ripped the rest of the way, causing Kara to shiver at the cool air and at being so exposed._

_Kara waited, the silence surrounding her. She trembled, knowing He was standing just behind her and she couldn’t see him, couldn’t prepare herself for when he decided to hit her. Closing her eyes, Kara tried to relax her body, knowing it wouldn’t stop the pain, but it wouldn’t make it hurt worse. She focused on the sound of his breath, hearing it hitch._

_Kara wasn’t prepared. She expected the sharp, biting pain of a whip, instead all she felt was his hands. He trailed his hands down her back and sides, his breath now warm against her neck. Kara’s eyes snapped open. She would rather the whip._

_His hands came around, grazing over her stomach. Kara tensed her muscles, trying to pull away from his hands even though she couldn’t move anywhere. His hands roamed back to her sides then down, across her hips and to her thighs, only to travel back up, the edges of his fingers grazing her backside. She heard him step away, and Kara clenched her eyes shut, turning her head and resting her forehead on her arm._

_She cried out suddenly, feeling the first bite of the whip across the back of her thighs. He didn’t hit her hard enough to really hurt her, just enough to get her attention. She felt the warmth of the red mark he left behind. Next thing she knew, she felt his breath on her neck again, his hands traveling across her body in the same pattern, growing slightly bolder. His hand grazed the underside of her breasts, the inner part of her thighs, coming to stop at the back of her thighs, where the whip mark tingled._

_Again, and again He ran through this cycle. Each whip becoming harder and harder, and each time he groped her body, he would stop, just short of her most guarded areas, until finally, he backed away._

_“Now, I would normally stop there, I don’t want you shutting down after just our first session, but Kara, you misbehaved. So now I must punish you for that.”_

_Kara tensed. She had forgotten his promise when she kicked him. Hearing a bottle open behind her, Kara jerked at feeling a cold liquid being spread across her back, the cold soothing to the red marks he left. She was confused. This wasn’t a punishment._

_He stepped back, Kara relaxing as his hands left her, her back feeling good at having the cool liquid on it. If only that was the case._

_Kara screamed out, as the whip hit her again, harder than any of the other ones. Instead of stopping, He continued on, Kara screaming out until she couldn’t support herself anymore, the edges of her vision going dark and her body going limp._

_She felt his breath on her neck again, his voice being the last thing she heard before darkness consumed her._

_“Next time, I’ll won’t stop until you’re bleeding. Don’t test me again, Kara.”_

_~~_

Bolting upright in bed Kara looked around, the sunlight confusing her. She remembered going to sleep with Lena, but she was now alone in bed. Focusing on the world around her, Kara relaxed, hearing the water running. Lena was taking a shower. The next sense kicking in had Kara throwing the covers off her and walking out of her bedroom. Laid out on the counter was breakfast. Kara teared up, a few tears silently escaping as she looked around. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Kara gasped. It was nearly noon! Kara turned towards the bathroom, hearing the water turn off. Giving Lena a few minutes to get dressed, Kara walked over to where she put her phone on the charger last night, only it wasn’t there. Looking around, Kara found it on the kitchen counter, next to a plate and a note.

_“Kara,_

_You’re probably going to be up by the time I get out of the shower. I already ate, so please eat all you want, don’t hold back. You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn’t dare wake you. I know you probably haven’t gotten much sleep lately. I took your phone and called Alex, telling her that you were off from Supergirl duty unless you decide to go do your Superhero thing after you get up. I also called Snapper, I told him you were throwing up and that was all it took for him to give you the day off. He said he would email you your assignments. Enjoy the morning, well, afternoon off. Eat up._

_Lena”_

Kara stood, staring at the note. She couldn’t believe that Lena did this for her. Lena was right though, Kara hadn’t gotten more than maybe four hours of sleep combined in the past few days. She felt like she had so much energy.

Hearing the door to the bathroom open, Kara turned, seeing Lena step out, drying the edges of her hair with a towel. She looked so cute and relaxed in Kara’s university sweater and yoga pants, her face free of makeup and her spare glasses perched on her nose.

Lena, seeing Kara standing at the edge of the kitchen looking at her, smiled at Kara, tossing the towel back into the bathroom. She walked to Kara, seeing the note clutched in Kara’s hands.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d wake up or not, but I thought I’d be safe, just in case you did. Also, you should really try to secure your phone more. Potstickers shouldn’t be your password. Alex also says good morning and wanted to remind you that you aren’t getting out of sisters nig-oof” Lena was cut off by the weight of the Kryptonian suddenly pulling her into a hug.

“Thank you, Lee. You won’t ever know how much this means to me.” Kara said, her face nuzzled into Lena’s neck.

Lena relaxed, getting over her surprise at the sudden hug and wrapping her arms around Kara.

“You’re the best person in my life, probably in this world, Kara. I’d do anything for you.” Lena whispered, tightening her hold on Kara. She wasn’t going to mention how Alex told her about Kara not sleeping. She also didn’t want to say how she noticed Kara actually sleeping so long as she was curled onto her, where she assumed Kara was tuned into her breathing and heartbeat. Lena noticed it when she got up the first time to go to the bathroom. Kara had started to toss and turn in that short time, but as soon as Lena returned, Kara curled back into Lena, Kara’s head resting on Lena’s chest. Twice more during the night Lena got up, both times to take a call. Kara would start to have a nightmare, only to stop once Lena returned to the bed, carefully pulling Kara back to her. If it meant Kara finally getting sleep, Lena would keep Kara wrapped in her arms all night. Lena had made up her mind after the last time of her getting back in the bed. Kara would not be sleeping alone again until the nightmares passed.

They stood there for another minute, just taking comfort in each other before Kara pulled away, smiling through the tears in her eyes.

“Come on, I’ll grab a second plate for you and we can open the windows and bask in the sun while you eat.” Lena reached up, wiping away Kara’s tear tracks before turning to load up a plate.

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wait, there will be more! I have several more chapters planned out.  
> And I'm sorry for hurting Kara, but I've got to establish the pain now so she'll heal!


	3. A Goddess Rises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUPERCORP WILL PREVAIL.  
> That is all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really kind of a fluff chapter, there are no nightmares, no violence at all. Kara needs some goodness in her life.

One week turned into two, Lena and Kara settling fully into a daily routine. Lena would wake up first, Kara curled around her body. She would ease away from Kara and start cooking breakfast. Some mornings, Kara woke up before she was done and would help.  Well, Kara would keep her company. She tended to eat as Lena would finish cooking, the food never making it to a plate. They would then take turns getting ready, before leaving for work.

Sometime around lunch, Kara would show up at L-Corp and make herself comfortable on Lena’s couch, always bringing food and sometimes flowers, the two women sharing a meal before Lena had to continue working. Kara would pull out her laptop and work on her articles or rush off the balcony to be Supergirl for a while.

Jess came to Lena after the second week.

“Ms. Luthor, I wanted to talk to you.” Jess peeked her head into Lena’s office, noticing that Kara wasn’t there anymore.

Seeing Jess looking rather shy standing in the doorway, Lena put down her pen, gesturing towards her couch.

“Of course, Jess. Please, call me Lena, especially if this is going to be a serious conversation.”

Sitting down, the two women faced each other, Jess sighing before continuing.

“You pay me to be good at my job. I’m observant. I learned what foods and drinks you liked without being told. I know whether it’s a coffee or tea type of morning from the moment you step out of the elevator. Because of this, I know that something has happened recently. Your eyes hold a sadness, as does Ms. Danvers, and I wonder if it’s because of her?”

Lena blinked, stunned by Jess. She didn’t think she was acting any differently than normal.

“What do you mean? Kara and I are closer than ever now. Why would she bring me sadness?” Lena watched as Jess shifted in her seat, her eyes not wanting to meet Lena’s.

“Becauseshetoldyoushewassupergirl.” A mumbled reply came from the otherwise normally strong-willed assistant.

Lena sucked in a breath. She couldn’t think of a lie immediately, and that was all Jess needed. She nodded, accepting the truth of her words.

“I think you two need to talk about it. With Ms. Danvers,” Jess paused, catching Lena’s eyes, “Kara, being who she is, you need to talk about what bothers you. I don’t want to see this come between you two. I’ve been hoping you would get closer since the day she walked in and you two clicked. Also, she really should stop using your balcony as an entrance and exit. Others will begin to notice too.”

Lena sighed. She would have to bring this up with Kara, Jess being too observant for her own good.

“I’ve known who Kara was for a while now, Jess. Ever since my mother kidnapped me months ago. That’s not what is weighing on my mind. Yes, it has to do with Kara, but it’s nothing between us. Kara is going through some things right now, and I’ve seen first hand how hard it is. I’m trying to help her get through that.”

“Ok, good. Because, normally she makes you happy. When she walks in, you smile at each other and it’s like the world stops. I’ve seen you with other people before, but you two are perfect for each other, and I didn’t want to see this come between you.” Jess stood, walking back towards the door now that she said her peace.

“Jess, wait!” Lena stood, reaching forward and stopping Jess. “What do you mean by that? Kara is my best friend, of course she makes me happy.”

Jess’s eyes widened, realizing she was wrong now twice in the same conversation.

“You and Kara aren’t dating? It seems like you were, I’m sorry for assuming, Lena. It’s just with how she is always bringing you food and flowers and you leave together all the time arm in arm, at a decent time finally, I thought one of you had finally gotten the nerve to ask the other out.”

“Jess, we’re just friends.”

Jess shrugged, not believing Lena now. “My best friend and I have known each other for nearly 15 years now, and we don’t bring each other flowers or spend every second together.” Turning, Jess walked back to her desk, closing the office door behind her.

Lena stood still, her mind racing. She didn’t have feeling for Kara. Right? Kara just needed the extra support right now, that’s all. Kara has always been a tactile person, and she’s always so generous. Jess was just reading into the situation more than what it was. Shaking her head, Lena walked back to her desk, intending to finish up the rest of her paperwork.

~~

The sun had already set by the time Kara returned to L-Corp, not surprised to find Lena still working. Walking in through the balcony doors, Kara came to a stop behind Lena, crossing her arms and resting them on the back of Lena’s chair.

Lena didn’t even acknowledge Kara, focused on finishing her last report. She was behind, her talk with Jess keeping her from focusing the entire day. Finishing the report and signing her name, Lena closed the pen before leaning back, staring at Kara upside, unable to stop a smile from forming as she caught the grin on Kara’s face.

“What happened that’s caused you to be so happy?” Lena asked, Kara coming around her to sit on the edge of Lena’s desk, her cape flowing effortlessly around her.

“I may have done something, as a thank you.” Kara shrugged, not giving anything away.

“Now I’m curious. Kara Danvers, what did you do?” Lena leaned back, expecting an answer.

“I’m not telling you. It’s a secret, one I’ve planned for a few days now.”

“You’ll tell me before we get back to your apartment. You cannot keep a secret.”

“I’ll have you know, I can keep a secret.”

“Not very well. I learned today that Jess knows you’re Supergirl.”

Kara stared at Lena, wondering if she was joking.

“Apparently, having Kara Danvers come visit me daily, and then not being in here sometimes when Jess comes in, and being back the next time, doesn’t do well for your cover. Also, you leave the balcony door open. It’s like you were raised on a farm.” Lena scoffed, gesturing with her head to the opened balcony door.

“Oh Rao, she’s going to have to sign and NDA too.” Sighing, Kara pinched the bridge of her nose, not looking forward to that conversation with Alex and J’onn. Huffing and throwing her hand back down she looked at Lena, deciding that was another day’s problem.

Kara stood, offering her hand to the still seated CEO. “Fine, if you’re done with your work and teasing me, can we go home now so I can show you what I’m keeping secret?” Kara offered her hand to Lena, not noticing how Lena’s heart skipped a beat. Kara said home, not ‘my apartment’. Shaking the thought from her mind, Lena grasped Kara’s hand, letting herself be pulled to her feet. Leaning over, Lena grabbed her purse from the drawer. Kara reached forward, intending to fly Lena home.

“Wait!” Lena put her hands out, both of them stopping on the crest covering Kara’s chest.

Kara froze, wondering if she overstepped. Lena had been letting her fly her around lately. Seeing the look of slight worry on her face, Lena smiled, tapping Kara on her nose. “hold on a second before we leave.”

Lena stepped around Kara, who stood straighter watching Lena walk to the door of her office. Leaning out, Kara heard Lena talking with Jess.

“Jess, Kara and I are leaving, go home, and go ahead and lock up. We’ll be leaving the non-conventional way.” Lena turned to walk back to Kara.

“Lena, wait.” Lena turned back to Jess. Kara turned around and walked to the windows, not wanting to eavesdrop.

Lena turned, seeing Jess reach for a card she had set to the side.

“I was dating a guy for a while, he ended up going to therapy to help with some problems that went past my ability of helping. This woman caters to a certain type of clientele, one Kara would fit into. If she needs it, I would recommend her.” Lena looked at the card Jess handed her. _Dr. K. Blackbourn._ On the back was an address and a phone number.

Lena looked up at Jess and smiled, mouthing a “thank you” before putting the card into her purse. Walking back to Kara, who had wandered out onto the balcony, Lena stepped up beside Kara, looking out at the night sky.

“I’m ready now.” Lena said, letting Kara pick her up before taking off towards Kara’s apartment, Lena turning and burying her face into Kara’s neck.

Softly, Kara landed in the alley behind her apartment, standing still for a second while Lena adjusted to being stopped before she lowered Lena down to stand on her own again.

Confused, Lean looked up at Kara. “Unless you redecorated, and redecorated badly, we aren’t in your apartment?”

Kara nodded, a smile plastered on her face.

“We aren’t. I want you to come in through the front door, otherwise the magic will be lost. I’ll be upstairs waiting.” And with that, Kara took off, leaving Lena to walk alone up to Kara’s apartment.

~~

Standing outside the apartment door, Lena took a second to prepare herself. She had no idea what Kara had done. Slowly, Lena reached for the door, knowing Kara stood just inside watching her through the door. Turning the handle and pushing, Lena was met with dim lighting. She walked in further, her eyes scanning around the room, taking in what was new.

Candles lit up the room, seemingly placed on every surface. The smell of food and lavender caressed Lena’s senses, tension leaving her body completely. Looking past the kitchen, Lena noticed Kara standing in the moonlight, dressed in jeans and a button-down white shirt, the couch pushed back against the wall, blankets and pillows piled on the floor turning the center of the room into a nest. At the edge of the nest, there was an egg-shaped metal object. Lena met Kara’s nervous eyes, smiling so wide Kara mirrored her before walking forward and into the kitchen, pulling a pan from the oven.

Lena’s eyes darted to the pan, her mouth watering at the sight. Kara had baked chicken breasts, cut them up and surrounded them with steamed vegetables and some sort of sauce keeping it from drying out.

Lena kicked off her heels and set her purse by the door, shutting the door quietly behind her. It was like she had walked into another universe, and she was scared any loud noise would break this world around them.

Kara pulled down two plates, loading each one with food and putting them on the bar before turning around and grabbing wine glasses.

“Red or White?” Kara’s voice floated through the air, the magic not breaking by the added sound.

“White.” Lena answered, walking towards the bar and sitting, Kara filling the glass and setting in front of Lena.

The Luthors raised Lena with strict manners. Always wait until everyone was seated. Never eat before the person who cooked the food does. Eat small bites and do not lean forward to eat over your plate.

But staring at the food in front of her, Lena almost threw every one of those rules, rules that were drilled into her everyday of her life, out the window. The food looked and smelled amazing, and she was hungry, but Kara thankfully only took a second longer before joining her, immediately digging into her food. Lena, taking her cue, started in on her own food, keeping the manners she was taught, but pushing the edges of the rules. If she were back in the Luthor mansion, she could see her mother now, an eyebrow raised in a silent warning for her to slow down and be a ‘proper Luthor’.

Kara, on the other hand, was not raised the same. She leaned forward, scooping bite after bite into her mouth so fast Lena wondered if she even chewed her food. Throwing caution to the wind, Lena leaned forward as well, eating larger bites and nearly moaning at the taste in her mouth. She was never cooking again now that she knew Kara could cook like this.

Neither woman spoke, too consumed with the food in front of them. Occasionally, Lena would catch Kara looking over at her. Lena would wink before taking another bite of her food, causing Kara to blush before going back to her food, working on her third plate.

Finally filling up, Lena put her fork and knife down, sitting up properly and stretching with a sigh. She hadn’t eaten a proper meal in weeks, Kara bringing her Chinese and burgers, an occasional salad thrown in there.

“Full?” Kara asked, amusement in her eyes. Lena had eaten more than Kara had ever seen her.

Nodding Lena reached forward, intending to clean up. Blinking Lena caught herself on the bar as Kara sped around her, the wind from her moving causing Lena’s hair to blow around before settling back down. Two seconds later, Kara stood next to Lena, a grin on her face as she offered Lena her hand.

“I told you, this is a thank you. You don’t have to do the dishes, or anything for that matter. But I would like for you to join me in the living room. There’s something I want you to see.

Lena looked down at Kara’s hand before raising her head, meeting those bright blue eyes. Setting her hand into Kara’s, they walked over to the nest on the floor, kneeling down and moving pillows around until they lay propped up, side by side.

“What do you have planned Kara? Because already I’m feeling more relaxed than I think I have been since moving to National City.” Lena rested her head on her hand, her arm supporting her as she looked at Kara in the dimly lit room.

Smiling, Kara reached over to the dark, egg-shaped object, picking it up. Lena wanted to ask what it was, but before she could, Kara whispered something, the language foreign to Lena. Softly, the object began to reveal blue glowing symbols. Setting it back on the floor above their heads, Kara flopped over on her back, her arm pulling Lena in to curl into her.

Suddenly, the room lit up and Lena gasped. A solar system surrounded her, the hologram taking up the entire living room.

“I wanted to tell you about where I came from.” Kara’s voice was small, and Lena pulled herself back up to look at Kara.

Gone was the excited Kara. There was hope in her eyes, but there was also fear. Fear that maybe Lena thought this was boring?

“Please do! Kara, this is amazing!” Lena threw herself back down beside Kara, her eyes wide as she took in the obvious differences to the solar system.

Seeing Kara grin out of the corner of her eye caused Lena’s heart to swell. Kara was sharing her world with her.

“Ok, so the obvious difference is, I grew up with a red sun.” Kara pointed to the bright red glowing orb across the room. “Under it, I don’t have my powers, so I grew up normal on Krypton.” Kara whispered something else in Kryptonese and the hologram changed, Krypton coming closer and enlarging, a city coming into view.

“I grew up in Argo City. My mother was, I guess you could say, a judge? My dad was a scientist. I was streamlined into the science guild, following in my father’s footsteps. I remember begging my parents to let me go to work with my dad. He would let me occasionally. He would give me broken machines and let me take them apart, trying to understand how they worked. He said that was the basis of all science. If you could learn how something worked, you could manipulate it.

“I remember one day, he didn’t let me go to work with him. Mother had a meeting she needed to be a part of, so they let me stay home alone, my aunt was to come check on me. Several hours later, she found me in the kitchen. I had taken apart Kalex, our household robot. She laughed for a while before helping me put him back together. It was our secret.

“Aunt Astra was always around when I needed her, too. She taught me how to hide in the rafters of our house, how to sneak through the bushes of Argo so I wouldn’t be seen by the Patrol-bots after curfew. She was a general in the military, but with me, she was just my Aunt. Until one day her and her husband, Non, were gone. I asked my mother about it, but she just said they were on a secret mission, and that they send their love. That was the last time I saw her.

“It wasn’t until I was thirteen that Kal-el was born. The youngest child in The House of El, and I swore to teach him what Aunt Astra had taught me. But then the earthquakes started, and before I knew it, I was being put into a pod, set to follow Kal-el. Unfortunately, I was sent just a few seconds too late. Krypton exploded, pieces of the planet flying through space around me. One of them hit my pod. Instead of staying behind Kal-el, I drifted into the Phantom zone, my navigation system shutting down in the negative space.  The last thing I remember before sleep was this massive shape floating between my pod and the sun.

“I learned later, after my pod was knocked loose and landed here, following the predetermined route set in place twenty four years earlier, that the shape I saw was Fort Rozz, Krypton’s maximum-security prison. When my pod was knocked out of the Phantom zone and back into orbit, I ended up pulling Fort Rozz with me.

“After I crashed down, Kal-el found me. This baby I left with was a grown man. He brought me to the Danvers and the rest is history.”

Lena took in everything Kara said, wondering how this ray of sunshine next to her survived, and stayed so optimistic. Leaning up, Lena looked at Kara, seeing the softness of her face. Kara looked so relaxed, the memories of her home leaving the edges of sadness in her eyes.

“Do you wish you were still there?” Lena asked softly, her free hand brushing away stray hairs from Kara’s face.

Kara turned her head, meeting Lena’s bright green eyes. She could see the wonder swirling around, the nerdy part of her was satisfied with all this new information.

“Honestly, sometimes. But I love my life here. I didn’t have a sister on Krypton. As much as I loved my family, they were very much focused on running things with the guilds. I was lonely. Here, I have Alex. Even having to recapture the Fort Rozz aliens, I wouldn’t change it. I got to see Aunt Astra again. I got to say goodbye before she died. I got closure.  

“I’ve met so many amazing people. I’ve traveled to different worlds, I developed powers and use them to save people.” Kara focused on Lena, taking in how relaxed and soft Lena looked curled up in her arm.

 “I have you.” Kara whispered, her heart thudding in her chest. She was pushing the edges of their friendship, not sure if Lena felt the same. She realized she couldn’t live without Lena in her life that first night. Lena grounded her, somehow made her feel safe. Kara knew Lena would walk through fire for her, as would Kara. Kara knew she would do everything in her power to keep Lena safe.

Lena, hearing Kara’s whispered words, breathed in, wondering if she was reading into it too much. Lena’s eyes darted, searching Kara’s eyes for her answers. Feeling like she was looking into Kara’s soul, Lena took a chance, her free hand tracing the edges of Kara’s face. Lena’s eyes focused on Kara’s mouth before darting back up to her eyes, looking for any hesitation. Finding none, Lena slowly leaned forward, giving Kara plenty of time to stop her.

No resistance came. Ever so lightly, Lena’s lips brushed against Kara’s before pulling back slightly, her eyes connecting with Kara’s again. Finding the blue of her eyes nearly glowing, Lena leaned forward again, her hand resting on the side of Kara’s face. Their lips met, a sigh leaving Kara as she wrapped her arm around Lena, pulling Lena on top of her, their legs stretched out, happy to just lay there.

Moving slowly, Lena brushed her lips against Kara’s again, feeling completely secure and safe in Kara’s strong arms. Pulling back again, intending to check in with Kara, Lena gasped softly, feeling one of Kara’s hands come up and tangle in her hair, Kara’s lips chasing after hers.

Lena melted into Kara, letting her take control. They laid there, learning each other. Kara becoming drunk on Lena’s gasps after nipping at her lower lip, determined to hear that sound as often as possible. Lena became determined to keep pulling the low moan from Kara as she scratched her nails lightly behind Kara’s ears.

Realizing the heat Lena felt moving through her body, she began to slow down, calming herself and Kara back down. Pulling back, only to briefly reach back and kiss Kara, Lena opened her eyes, looking into Kara’s eyes, finding almost no blue left to them.

“I meant what I said Lena. I love you. I have for a while, but I didn’t really want to think about it. But the more time I spend with you, the more I fear you leaving again, and we go back to being friends who see each other only a few times a week or two.” Kara reached up, brushing Lena’s hair out of her face, searching her eyes to understand how Lena really felt. Finding eyes as dark as hers felt, Kara continued to touch, running a finger down the side of Lena’s face, tracing every curve and over her jawline and lips before running back up the other side.

Unconsciously following the finger, Lena turned slightly, her eyes half closing as she wanted to chase the finger that ghosted over her lips. Opening her eyes again fully, Lena look down at Kara, who was gazing at Lena like she belonged in the stars from the hologram that floated around them. Leaning down, Lean went in for a brief kiss before laying back down beside Kara, one arm draped around Kara’s stomach, Lena’s chin resting on Kara’s shoulder.

“I love you too Kara Zor-el.”

Both women laid in silence looking up at the stars, their hands never stopping as they mapped out each other. Kara’s fingertips tracing up and down Lena’s arm. Lena running her hand up Kara’s side and then back down, occasionally pausing at the feeling of raised skin under her fingertips. Lena would feel Kara tense, her hand pausing on Lena’s arm before Lena would lean her head slightly, kissing Kara’s shoulder or neck, causing Kara to relax and continue.

Lena gasped slightly, her eyes going wide as she remembered her conversation from earlier. Kara, hearing Lena, looked over her eyebrows drawing together.

Lena looked up at Kara, her eyes wide. “Jess was right. She knew before we did. Oh my god I’m going to have to tell her she was right about us.” Lena’s head came forward, her forehead thudding against Kara’s collarbone.

Feeling herself shake, she lifted her head back up, glaring at Kara. She was laughing.

“It’s not funny, Kara!” Lena exclaimed, but not really having the heat behind it. She was taken in with the sound of Kara’s laughter.

Kara’s laughter died down, allowing Lena to put her head back down on Kara’s chest, focusing on her heartbeat. Silence filled the apartment, Lena and Kara relaxing, neither one wanting to move to the bed to sleep.

“I can’t believe your assistant not only knows I’m Supergirl, but she saw this between us before we did.”

“I pay her to be good at her job, not my fault she goes above and beyond.”

~~

Kara gasped awake, her eyes taking a split second to adjust to the darkness around her. Looking down, she saw Lena asleep, curled into her side. Kara took a moment to listen. She wasn’t having a nightmare, so what woke her up? Closing her eyes, Kara extended her hearing, finally finding the source. Opening her eyes again, she looked down at Lena and carefully extracted herself, wrapping the blanket she was laying on over Lena to keep her warm. Changing quickly into her Supergirl outfit, Kara flew out the window of her apartment, landing in the middle of National City Park.

The figure turned around, smiling.

“Hello, cousin.”

“Kal-el. What are you doing here so late? Haven’t you heard of a cell phone?” Kara crossed her arms, annoyed that he woke her in the middle of the night.

“I needed to talk to you. It’s urgent.” Superman paced in front of Kara, the smile dropping from his face.

“Kal, what’s going on?”

Superman stopped, reaching into his boot and pulling out his phone. He pulled up a picture before turning it to Kara. Kara unfolded her arms, her mouth falling open and ice flooding her veins. It was a picture of Kara in her Supergirl outfit, taken this afternoon. She was in Lena’s office, looking confused. Lena was smiling, her hand extended to Kara, tapping her on the nose.

Under the picture there was a message.

_“I wonder how much more she could take now that she has a girlfriend to go home to.”_

_-Your favorite doctor_

Kara looked up at Kal, fear invading her senses. She was being watched.

“Kal, He’s been locked away for the past two years. He’s so far down in the DEO that the term black-site doesn’t even exist in this place. How did this happen?”

Superman shook his head, worried for his cousin. “Honestly, Kara, I don’t know. I came as soon as this was sent to me. I was going to come into your apartment but, you seemed awfully comfortable with Lena Luthor on the floor.” Kal raised his eyebrow, questioning Kara.

“Lena is my- Lena and I are exploring what we feel for each other Kal. That’s not your concern.” Kara could feel herself becoming defensive, only stopping as Kal-el raised his hands in surrender.

“I just want you to be careful, Kara. You are my family and I don’t want you to be heartbroken if things don’t work out. From the tabloid pictures Lois shows me, you are always together, and you look happy, I’m glad she makes you smile properly again.

But, regarding this photo, I’m staying here until we figure this out. I’m going back to Metropolis tonight to get clothes and take off from work. I’ll be back tomorrow and then we can figure out how this happened, or even if this is actually related and not a copycat. I just wanted you to be hyper-aware of your surroundings until then.”

Nodding Kara stepped forward, giving Superman a hug before stepping back.

“Thanks, Kal. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Meet you at the DEO?”

Kal-el nodded before taking off, Kara sighing. She suddenly felt exposed, her privacy gone. Taking off, Kara flew back to her apartment, circling the area several times before feeling safe enough to land. Closing her windows and pulling the curtains, Kara looked down at Lena, curled up still in the next of blankets, her face relaxed with sleep.

Not wanting to be alone, Kara stripped into her sleep clothes and crawled back into the blankets, Lena automatically adjusting and pulling Kara closer to her chest. Kara nuzzled in, focusing on Lena’s heartbeat. She wouldn’t go back to sleep, not after seeing that picture, but the steady beat of Lena’s heart relaxed her and calmed her down, feeling safe in Lena’s arms.

Kara wanted to talk to Lena about what happened, but instead she let her sleep, not wanting to make it all real yet. She just wanted to be happy, but apparently the universe had other ideas. Sighing, Kara closed her eyes. Everything could wait until morning. There was nothing she could do tonight anyway.

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the goodness has a condition. I'm sorry.


	4. Even The Devil Makes Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm conflicted about something. What do you guys prefer I use. "Superman/Kal-El?" "Superman/Clark?" or a combination of all three? Cause honestly what the hell should I refer to him as. Kara at least kept her Kryptonian name so I only need to switch between Kara and Supergirl every so often just to change it up. But Superman? Three names is difficult to switch between and still keep the flow...  
> Also, I'll probably have more mistakes in this chapter. I'm sorry. We were busy with 911 calls, so I didn't have time to proof read in depth.

Lena woke slowly, not wanting to move from the warmth surrounding her. Snuggling deeper, Lena sighed, feeling content to just lay in Kara’s arms. Hearing a light chuckle, Lena peeked her head up, meeting Kara’s eyes.

“You never wake up before me.” Lena said, watching Kara’s smile falter. Something happened during the night.

“Kara?”

Kara closed her eyes and sighed. Of course Lena would pick up on the tension she held. Feeling Lena shift, Kara opened her eyes, looking down at Lena, her head resting on Kara’s stomach, green eyes searching Kara’s face.

“I received a visit from Kal-El this morning. He was sent a disturbing text and rushed here to warn me.” Reaching back, Kara grabbed her phone from the floor, opening to the forwarded message before turning it over to Lena.

Lena stared at the screen, her entire body going rigid. This bastard was playing games.

Kara watched Lena, seeing her go stiff, her green eyes flashing with hate. Looking up over the phone, Lena stared at Kara, the next words comforting and terrifying Kara.

“I could kill him for this.” Lena handed the phone back to Kara, pushing herself up from the floor, determined to get dressed and fix this.

Kara scrambled after her, not sure what to say. Lena looked like a predator, throwing clothes on and pulling her hair up into a bun, not even bothering with brushing it.

“Lena, what are you going to do?” Kara started grabbing her own clothes, hiding into the bathroom to change.

“I’m going to the DEO. Alex or J’onn will tell me where they hid Him away. Then I’m going to beat him into submission if I have to. Killing him would be too easy.” Lena’s voice drifted through the apartment, closer to the front door than Kara would have like. Speeding into her Supergirl outfit, Kara ran out the bathroom, coming to stand in front of Lena before she could grab her purse and walk out the door.

“Lena,-”

“Don’t ‘Lena’ me. This monster caused you so much pain, for what? His enjoyment? No, I will not spare feelings over this. He should not still have pull from the inside of a cell. I should know, I have had to fight back against Lex, and he’s in solitary confinement! Knowing your sister, she probably put Him in some deep, dark hole. Apparently, cockroaches can find any little opening to crawl through. This ends now, Kara. I won’t allow him to cause you more pain.” Lena brushed past Kara, reaching for the door only to be stopped by an arm pressing against the door.

“Lena, we’re going to go to the DEO. Kal-El is going to meet us there. We need a plan, not just rage. We don’t know who his man is on the outside.” Kara brought her hand up to Lena’s face, making Lena look at her.

Sighing, Lena felt the fight leave her body, nodding as Kara pulled her into a hug. Lena couldn’t help but scoff. Kara pulled back, confused.

“I should be comforting you, not the other way around.”

Kara smiled, her thumb rubbing against Lena’s cheek as she held her face. “In this relationship, we’ll take turns comforting each other. No hiding away your emotions.”

Lena’s eyebrow raised, “Relationship huh?”

Kara blushed, her eyes looking at everything but the smirk on Lena’s face.

“Well… Yeah. I mean, I haven’t actually had a girlfriend before, but I guess that’s what we are. I don’t just make out with someone without reason.”

Lena chuckled under her breath, bringing her hand under Kara’s chin, making Kara look her in the eyes.

“I’m just teasing, love. After last night, I realized we were both on the same page.” Kara’s eyes lit up, a smile pulling at her lips. Glancing at the smile, Lena matched it with one of her own before leaning in, kissing Kara.

Pulling back, Lena sighed, realizing she could get used to doing that whenever she wanted.

“Come on Supergirl, let’s go conquer the world.”

~~

Lena sat next to Winn at the DEO. They were watching Alex in the training room with the new recruits. Kara told Alex as soon as they arrived, Alex going into a fit of rage immediately. Kara was able to calm her down, much the same as she did earlier with Lena. Knowing they were waiting on Kal-El, Alex went to the training room, hoping to work out some frustration while they waited.

Winn had Kara’s phone plugged into a computer, a trace program running on the screen.

“Fifty bucks says someone is going to cry in the next 10 minutes.”

Lena stared at the screen, taking in Alex’s controlled rage. Turning to Winn, Lena upped the stakes. “One hundred that someone cries, and another recruit leaves before it’s their turn.”

Nodding, they turned back to the screen, watching as each person was slammed to the mat. Lena looked over the faces of the ones waiting around the mat. Pointing at one that looked especially pale, Lena pulled out her wallet from her purse under the desk. Putting a hundred on the keyboard between them, Lena pointed back at the recruit.

“He’s going to leave. He flinches every time someone goes down.”

They watched as Alex rolled another recruit into a hold, his hand slapping on the mat signaling that he conceded. They stood, Alex turning slowly as she took in those standing in front of her. Pointing to two of them, she got into her fighting stance again.

The two men looked at each other and nodded, turning and charging at Alex. Lena and Winn winced, watching as both of them hit the mat. Alex paced around them as they got to their knees, her hands gesturing wildly. She was giving a full-on lecture to the recruits, the two on their knees in front of her dropping their heads.

Gesturing back at the line, the men stood and walked back to their spots, looking down at the floor. Alex turned her back to them, this time pointing at three new bodies. Lena watched the freshly defeated men, one of them raising face hand and wiping at his face.

Winn shot up, pointing at the screen. “See! I told you someone was going to cry! I’ll take that hundred now.” Winn reached for the bill sitting on the keyboard, only to be stopped by Lena’s hand.

“I believe I added that someone was going to leave. And judging by this guy shuffling to the side, he’s getting ready to bolt for the door.” Lena pointed back at the figure from earlier. He was almost behind the recruit next to him as they watched Alex spar with the three others she had chosen.

Alex kicked out to one of the men coming at her from behind, her foot landing solidly in his lower stomach, dropping him to the mat. She turned, grabbing the arm coming towards her in a punch before flipping him over onto the mat. The escaping recruit flinched more, this time looking back at the door in the corner and taking a step towards it.

Alex turned to the woman left standing. They began sparring, neither landing a painful hit on each other. The woman turned quickly, putting a spin behind her kick, only Alex wasn’t standing anymore. She had dropped low, her leg swiping out and knocking the woman to the mat before jumping forward, grabbing the girl’s arm and twisting it behind her, effectively subduing the girl.

Lena watched as the pale figure in the back took that moment to take the last few steps to the door and pull it open before slipping through. She watched Alex look up at the door as it closed before standing and gesturing at the group, then back to the door, giving the rest of them their chance at leaving. No one dared to move though, so the punishment continued.

Finally seeing what they wanted to, Lena turned to Winn, crossing her legs and arms while leaning back in the chair, looking smug. Winn stood there before looking at Lena, a frown on his face. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet before tossing down a hundred-dollar bill on the keyboard. Returning his wallet back into his pants pocket, Winn flopped down into his seat and crossed his arms, mumbling under his breath.

Lena reached forward, scooping up the money before turning at the sounds of boots coming down the hall. Kara walked into the middle of the room, looking around for a second before finding Lena. Falling into the chair ungracefully with a huff, Kara looked over at the screen of Alex training, this time showing specific ways to take someone down.

“What’s on your mind?”

Kara turned to Lena, not sure where to start.

“Kal-el is on his way, and I guess it makes it that much more real. Being here like we are now, it’s easy to push away the fear. When he gets here, we’re going to be focusing on Him and who He was working with. I just wish things could go back to normal.”

Lena reached over, grabbing Kara’s hand and bringing it to her lips, the action so natural that she doesn’t think twice about having others around her.

“Whatever happens, if you feel like you need to take a break and just get some air, do not hesitate. I mean it, Kara. Don’t push down any feelings. You say the word and I will take you away from wherever we are.” Lena met Kara’s downcast eyes, trying to give Kara as much strength as she could.

Hearing murmured voices behind her, Lena turned around, confused at what she saw. J’onn, Winn, a sweaty Alex and several other agents were passing money to J’onn, each one looking annoyed. Clearing her throat, all eyes turned to Lena.

“What was the bet this time?” Lena’s eyebrow raised, challenging someone to lie. She had a feeling she knew exactly what it was.

Alex groaned, basically tossing a twenty at J’onn.

“It was about when you two would finally get together. I gave it a few more months of you two pining after each other, J’onn of course, was right. We should know better than to bet against a mind reader.”

The fluttering of a cape, and boots hitting the floor caused everyone to turn towards the center of the room where Superman stood, his eyes automatically scanning the room before walking towards the gathered group, his face somber.

Kara stood, pulling Lena with her as they all gathered around the center console.

“So J’onn, I’m going to jump right in because I don’t want to wait any longer for this threat to grow. Where did you hide away this sadist? Because obviously it wasn’t far enough away from here, or you didn’t do your job properly and you missed someone that was helping him.” Kal-el challenged, tempering his anger so he wouldn’t break the console he was leaning on.

“I assure you Mr. Kent, our prisoner has not seen the light of day for two years. He hasn’t had human contact, save his meals being delivered through a slot in the door. He is under 24-hour surveillance, his guards being rotated every two days and their minds wiped by me.”

“How about we start with were this photo was taken and by who.” Alex cut in, not wanting to get in a pissing contest with the two men. Everyone turned and looked at Winn, who was still sitting at the computer chewing on the end of his pen.

Noticing the sudden change in focus, Winn looked up, startled by all eyes on him. Throwing the pen down, he started in on what his trace had found.

“Ok guys, I don’t have much to go on. Judging from the angle of the picture, it was taken from one of these offices,” Winn gestured towards a 3D photo of a building across from L-Corp, several of the office windows highlighted. “As far as who took the picture, I can’t tell you much more on that, all I know so far is it was taken with a 300mm+ telephoto lens, which is a little expensive, but it isn’t that uncommon. Most sport photographers and wildlife photographers have at least one, so trying to track it that way is a dead end. I do have video footage of that building running for that day. With the size of the lens needed to take the photo, you’d need a backpack or a large camera bag to carry it. As of right now, facial recognition hasn’t found anyone with a criminal background other than a few misdemeanors.”

Shrugging, Winn turned back to the computer, typing away at the computer, searching for any lead he could find. The group turned back to the center console, trying to come up with a plan.

“Kal-el, why don’t you and I fly around the building where the picture was taken, we can look and see if anything was left behind.”

Nodding, Superman started towards the balcony, Supergirl following closely behind him.

“I’m going to go through the list of people we arrested, see if any of them have cell-mates or family that would help them.” Alex walked away, intent on doing something, leaving J’onn and Lena to stare across the console at each other.

“Ms. Luthor, I may have something you can work on, a failsafe in case things get bad later.” J’onn nodded towards the stairs. Lena followed behind him, coming to stand at the door to the lab.

“Kara’s Aunt had special armor that negated the effects of kryptonite. I was hoping you could try to rework it into something less bulky, something we can possibly work into Kara’s suit to protect her. We know He was able to get his hands-on kryptonite, we never did find out where he had it stored.”

Nodding, Lena walked into the lab. Science she could do. Stopping as she felt a hand on her arm, Lena turned back to J’onn, looking down as he held out his hand, a small earpiece laying there.

“You need to be kept in the loop, especially if you’re going to be up here. If you’re anything like Alex when she gets to working up here, you’re going to tune out everything around you. At least this way, you can hear what’s important and tune out everything that isn’t. I had Winn create a new channel, right now, Supergirl, Superman, Alex, Winn, a selected few, trusted agents, you and I are the ones on it.”

“Thank you, J’onn. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.” Lena took the offered earpiece, fitting it into her ear before nodding at J’onn and turning back to the lab.

~~

Kara and Clark flew through the city, scanning the buildings and people around them. Approaching L-Corp, Kara slowed down, focusing her vision on the building across from it. Floating next to the floors Winn’s model had highlighted, Kara tuned into her x-ray vision, the rooms becoming translucent. Sighing, Kara broke her focus, her vision returning to normal. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Several of the offices were vacant, but nothing was left behind that she could see.

Turning around Kara looked into Lena’s office. Not seeing Lena sitting at her desk during the day was a weird sight. Looking closer, Kara noticed something off about Lena’s desk.

Flying onto the balcony, Superman following behind, Kara stared at the vase of purple flowers sitting in the middle of the desk. Walking in, the balcony never being locked, Kara inspected the flowers, pulling the card from the center of the arrangement.

_“You and your girlfriend should love these.”_

 Kara flipped the card over, the flower shop’s name printed in cursive on the back. It was only two blocks away.

Handing the card to Clark, Kara started towards the balcony, anger driving her. Whoever this was, he was toying with her. He broke into Lena’s office.

“Kara, wait!”

Kara turned around, looking at Clark. He was sniffing the flowers, his eyebrows drawn together as he analyzed.

“I’ve seen this type of flower before, but never around here. Come with me back to the DEO. I want to be sure about this before we worry more. Let one of the other agents talk to the flower shop. With how smart this guy is, you know he covered his tracks there.” Picking up the vase, Clark and Kara took off to the DEO, not noticing the man taking pictures from the rooftop two buildings down.

~~

Lena looked up from her microscope at the sound of boots walking towards her. Alex throwing herself in onto the stool on the other side of the table.

“Please tell me you need help with something. I couldn’t find any connection through our database and now I feel useless.”

Lena completely understood. Nodding, she handed Alex a tray, labeled pieces of metal spread out over it. “I could use some help testing these types of metals. This blue substance that counteracts the kryptonite works well in glass but seems to be corrosive to metal. If I keep it encased in the glass, Kara runs a chance of it breaking and the liquid becoming ineffective.”

Alex nodded, reaching for the vial holding the blue substance. Drawing up a tiny amount into a syringe, Alex started dripping a small amount onto each piece of metal, her eyebrows raising at the reactions. Some of the metals began to rust, one of them the substance ate through completely, but in the middle one of the metals seemed to not be affected, the substance pooling on the surface.

Lena went back to her microscope, trying to learn the compound of this blue substance. If she could understand the inner workings, maybe when she sequenced it and learned what components were in it, she could re-synthesize it, creating more to protect Kara and Kal-el if something happened.

The fluttering of capes alerted the women to the arrival of Kara and Clark. Looking up from her microscope, her eyebrows drew together at the sight of Superman holding a vase full of flowers.

“These were left in your office, Lena. I need you to test it’s origins, and be careful, if it’s what I think it is, it’s dangerous.”

Lena nodded, reaching for gloves and safety glasses. Pulling one of the petals off, Lena dropped it into a specimen jar, passing it to Alex.

Turning and putting the petal into a mass spectrometer, letting the machine take over. Typing away at the computer, Alex pulled up the lab report, waiting for the readings to fully come in. A few minutes later, the computer beeped, the results popping up on the screen.

“Aconitum variegatum. That’s wolf’s bane.” Alex turned eyeing the plant. “Why would they send you a poisonous plant? For the most part, unless you eat it, it’s not really going to hurt you.”

Lena stepped over to Kara, pulling her gloves off before threading her hand into Kara’s. “The threat is enough. Whoever this is, is not happy that I’m involved. Honestly though, whoever this is, is going to have to do better than sending me a dangerous flower. If Lex hasn’t scared me away with the many attempts on my life, I’m surely not running away from this.” Lena looked up at Kara, meeting sad eyes.

Kara couldn’t help but worry. If he hurt Lena, she would break. She had Alex and everyone in her family, but Lena had her soul.

“I’m going to go downstairs, Winn can remotely access my security system from here if I log into it. I know he could try to hack it, but we need to get this guy as soon as possible.” Leaning up and kissing Kara quickly, Lena squeezed her hand before walking out.

“We’re going to get this guy, Kara. I promise you that.” Alex vowed before turning back to work on the Kryptonite protection. She knew this was one promise she wouldn’t break.

~~

Lena pulled up a chair next to Winn, making him move from his computer before sitting down, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

“Excuse you! Aren’t you supposed to be in the lab? Why are you messing with my stuff? Wait- Is that L-Corp’s security system? Let me see!” Winn rolled back over, intending to take the keyboard back. Lena turned, her face set, warning Winn away before he could take it back. Winn pulled his arms back, huffing before moving away again. “Ok! Testy woman.” He mumbled, turning to the computer next to her and going back to another project he had running.

Finally logged into her system, Lena moved away. “Ok, Winn. Now you can play. Apparently, poisonous flowers were delivered to my office. We need to track it down. You have access to everything from here. My employee database, security cameras, and you can even control everything electronic at L-Corp. Just, try not to mess with any settings. I have everything set up the way I want it.”

Chuckling at the joy on Winn’s face, Lena moved away. It was like she just gave Winn a new toy for Christmas. Going back upstairs, Lena noticed a distinct lack of blue and red, Alex being the only person in the lab.

Looking up from the metals, Alex waved Lena over.

“I figured out the metal. Inconel. It’s actually perfect for what we need. It not only doesn’t react to the blue-K, it holds up against extreme temperatures and kinetic force. Kara’s flying or a wrongly timed punch won’t break it.”

Lena smiled, she had the perfect idea for what was needed, this being the final piece for her to get started.

~~

Winn sat at his desk, going through surveillance footage from L-Corp. Fast forwarding through hours of Lena’s empty office, he suddenly sat up, tapping a few keys to stop the video feed. Rewinding it and playing from the moment the man entered, Winn watched carefully, hoping to find something.

The man on the screen walked in, a baseball cap and gloves covering him. He continued forward, setting the vase down before wandering around Lena’s office, running a gloved finger over the few pictures she had on a shelf. Walking over to the bar, he picked up the glass pitcher of amber colored liquid, pulling open the stopper and smelling. Seeming to enjoy whatever Lena had in there, the man grabbed a glass and poured some before returning the pitcher to where it was. Taking one more glance around the room, the man lifted the glass and took a sip, walking back out the door.

Winn began to cycle through the video, following this man’s exit. He seemed to know where the security guards were and how to avoid the camera. Exiting the elevator, the man walked out a side door into an alleyway. Circling through the cameras again, Winn picked him up leaving into a side street before loosing him in the crowd.

Winn felt a churning in his stomach. They had him on video. Rewinding it back, Winn watched the tape several times, looking for any little hint at his identity. Frustrated at how well he hid himself, Winn played it back again, this time mocking each movement the man made.

Lifting an imaginary glass to his lips, Winn made a noise under her breath before moving on to the man leaving, muttering about how ‘he looks like he owns the place’ before watching him blend into the crowd.

Sitting up suddenly, Winn played the tape back, slowly as the man came out of the alley. Pausing the video as the man turned, Winn sat closer, inspecting the man’s hands.

Jumping up, Winn pressed his earpiece, turning the voice on. “J’onn! Kara! Guys! I have something!”

Everyone rushed to the console, Winn picking up his tablet and pressing a few buttons before the video feed showed up on the big screen. Playing the security footage again, everyone stood still, confused at what Winn was seeing. As the man turned out of the alley, Winn paused the video.

“There! He messed up!”

Kara leaned forward, squinting at the screen. She didn’t see anything different. He was still covered up, there was nothing special about his clothes.

“Winn, I don’t get it?”

“I know, I didn’t either. It wasn’t until I started mocking him that I noticed it.” Rewinding it quickly, he pulled up the video of Lena’s office. Stopping it again, he pointed at the man drinking.

“So, he enjoyed my expensive scotch?” Lena asked, still not catching on.

“Yes, but, watch. He leaves with your glass.” Winn continues playing the video fast-forwarding to the man leaving into the alley, glass still in hand. Turning to everyone again, making sure they are paying attention, he presses play again only to stop as the man turns into the crowd. Typing onto the screen, the video zooms in onto the man’s hands.

Winn turned to look at everyone, seeing the shock on all their faces.

“He left the glass in the alley.”

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He done messed up.  
> I plan on having everything blow up in like...2? chapters?? don't hold me to that, but it's coming. You can feel the tension now!  
> (Also, I know I've been uploading nightly/every morning, but it's because I've been writing while at work. So, I apologize in advance, but in two days, I'll have a day off and I may not post that night.)


	5. The Devil Has Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm sorry it took me a few days to post this. I had a loss of inspiration, and then I got busy with work. But without fail, I will keep posting, maybe not daily? but I'm going to try.

DEO agents swarmed the alleyway, each one outfitted in forensic gear. Lights were set up, flooding the area in bright light. Kara and Clark hovered nearby, watching and waiting for someone to find the glass. They were so close to catching a break, and Kara’s nerves were in knots.

“Hey, we’re going to get this guy. One way or another.” Clark floated closer to Kara, his hand resting on Kara’s shoulder.

“I’m just scared of what can still happen.”

Kara and Clark looked up, hearing a voice yell above the crowd. Standing knee deep into a pile of trash bags, an agent stood, ripping off his face mask and pulling up the glass, carefully dropping it into an evidence back offered to him.

Sighing, Kara and Clark felt some tension leave their bodies.

~~

Kara followed the agents holding the glass, determined to not let it out of her sight. Walking into the lab in the DEO, Kara finally broke away, turning to where Lena stood bent over a table, her back to Kara.  She stood there watching Lena, the woman lost in her own world as she worked on her project.

“Fuck.” Lena muttered, Kara flinching as Lena threw some sort of instrument to the side, Kara walked forward, her arms coming around Lena, her head propping up on Lena’s shoulder.

Lena tensed for a brief second, startled by Kara, before relaxing back into the embrace and sighing.

“Remember when you told me to take a break when I needed? I think you need to take your own advice.”

“I just want to get this done. I’m almost finished I just need to introduce the blue-K, seal it, and turn this into what I want. Why don’t you go get us some food? I should be done by then.”

Kara, energized by the idea of food, turned her head, kissing Lena on the cheek before rushing off, leaving Lena reaching for the table to steady herself, no longer supported by a solid body.

Leaning back over the metal she had laying in pieces, Lena picked up the small drill, carving out a pattern into the largest piece. Grabbing the syringe of glowing blue liquid, Lena poured the liquid into the pattern, letting it settle before sealing the glass covering over it. Connecting all the pieces of the metal, Lena lifted the bracelet, smiling at this finished product. Sliding it into her pocket so Kara couldn’t see it yet, Lena reached over to the next tray of metal, starting in on the next piece she was making, this time for Superman.

Not wanting his to be as, intimate, Lena decided on a belt buckle, hoping to add a few things to the Super suit to make it all match. Cutting into the metal and making the House of El crest, Lena put the blue-K into the opening, before covering it in the thick glass and sealing it, the blue glowing in its’ new home. Nodding at the completed project, Lena picked up the belt buckle, walking out of the lab and downstairs to Winn.

“Hey Winn. I have a side project I need your help on.”

Winn turned around, only to be met with Lena holding out a belt buckle. Taking it and inspecting the craftsmanship, he whistled lowly, running a finger over the crest, noticing the smooth the transition between steel and glass.

Winn looked back up at Lena, a grin on his face. “Do we get to play with Superman’s suit?”

“Well, considering he’s wearing it at the moment, no. But I need design ideas and you’re the only person that knows these super suits inside and out and can make a design flawlessly match.”

Winn scoffed, the compliment making him fluster a little. Muttering under his breath at they walked down to a room, Winn took a stab at Lena. “You should know the inside of Kara’s at least.”

Her steps faltering, Lena cut a look to Winn. “I have not- I mean- We haven’t had the chance. Not like I don’t want to, but obviously the timing is wrong.” A light pink began coloring Lena’s face, being caught off guard by Winn’s straightforwardness.

Winn’s laughter echoed in the hall as they stopped at a door. “You’re not so scary when you’re flustered.”

Lena gaped at him before closing her mouth, her jaw setting as she fixed her gaze. Crossing her arms, she raised an eyebrow, causing Winn to squeak slightly before walking into the room.

Turning the lights on, Lena took in the amount of fabric surrounding her. Most of it was different shades of blue, red and black, most likely to fix Supergirl’s suit and DEO uniforms.

Winn walked over to a table, half hidden with pieces of fabric piled onto it. He shoved everything to the side, pulling up a stool for Lena to sit on as he walked around, pulling sketches from a desk hidden in the corner. Standing on the other side of the table, he laid the sketches out, Lena looking over them. Turning to a box on floor, Winn dug around before pulling a belt out and laying it on the table.

“I’ve had the idea for a new belt for about a year now. I wanted it to be flexible, not like a stiff leather belt. It needs to move just as well as the suit, but still hold its original function. I had this prototype already done, I just wasn’t happy with it being so plain, but adding the belt buckle ties it together nicely.”

Lena set the sketches to the side, pulling the belt closer and inspecting it. It was made of the same material as the suit, the stitch work was seamless. The dark red was smooth, the yellow accents were subtle, just enough to compliment the crest on Superman’s chest. Attaching the buckle to one end and looping the other through, Lena held up the belt to Winn, letting him look it over.

The darkness of the belt contrasted beautifully with the glow the blue-k gave off, making the belt look every bit “other-worldly”.  Satisfied with the design, Winn looped the belt around his arm and gestured towards the door, satisfied with the easy fix. Lena followed behind, hoping now that Kara was back with food.

~~

Kara sped around the bunk room, placing a few candles on a small table that she dragged close to a bunk, the food she flew to Italy to get was set up, the pasta looking less impressive in the to-go containers. Dimming the lights, Kara sat down on the bunk she had pushed against the wall, waiting for Lena.

Several minutes later, the door to the bunk room opened, Lena peeking her head in before sighing and stepping into the room fully, closing the door behind her as she walked towards Kara.

“I’ve been looking for you. I figured you’d go to the dining room. When you weren’t there I had to start asking around, but nobody knew exactly where you were. Finally, one of the agents, little intimidating of a woman, Vasquez, pointed me this way.” Lena sat down on the bunk with Kara, letting the tension bleed out of her. “Not that I’m complaining, but why are we in here, Kara?”

Kara smiled, reaching for the food, passing Lena her container before opening her own, turning on the bed to face her girlfriend.

“You seemed incredibly stressed, I thought I’d do something nice and give us a place to just relax for a moment.”

Lena hummed as she took a bite of her food, closing her eyes.

“Honestly, I needed it. Thank you, Kara. Also, this is the best Italian food I’ve ever had outside of Italy. Where did you get it, and at” Lena glanced down at her watch, sucking in a breath, “1:30 in the morning!”

Kara grabbed Lena’s hand, turning her wrist to see the time for herself. “That explains why he was out in the garden and not in the house.   I flew to Italy. There’s this man there, I saved his daughter while she was studying abroad here in National City, now I go to him for food. He sends me away with something new every time. I have yet to have a bad meal from him, I even eat the vegetables! He called this Wedding Soup? He had it cooking all night.”

“You flew to Italy?! Kara!”

Kara shrugged, taking another large bite, grinning. “I wanted to do something nice.”

“You do realize you always do something nice. You don’t have to try to impress me. I would’ve been happy with takeout from down the street too. I just need you.” Setting her food aside, Lena leaned forward and put her hand on Kara’s leg, just needing to connect with her.

Finishing her food, Kara set the container to the side, pulling Lena into her as she leaned back on the bed. Kara sat with her back propped on the bed frame, her arms and legs circling around Lena.

“I’ll always need you, Lee. Just you being here is the only thing keeping me grounded. I feel the edges of panic invading my senses, then I look at you and I get lost in the depths of your eyes and I come back to Earth. I feel my heartbeat skip before slowing down, and my mind goes silent. You are the reason I keep going, Lena.”

Lena sniffed quietly, tears coming to her eyes. Willing them not to fall, Lena snuggled further into Kara, feeling like she was in the safest, warmest cocoon in the world. Wrapping her arms around Kara’s middle, and pressing her head further into Kara’s chest, Lena relaxed, barely noticing as Kara leaned down and kissed her head before leaning her head back, both women enjoying the silence and being wrapped up in each other.

It only took a minute before both women were asleep, cuddled completely into each other.

~~

Alex had her head resting on her arms on the table of the lab, waiting for a DNA match on the glass. She wished she was in the movies, where the results were instantaneous, instead, she sat here at- glancing at the watch folded under one of arms-2:45 in the morning. Normally, she would go catch a few hours in the bunk room, but she wanted to be here the moment the results came in.

Alex stood, stretching and walking to the other side of the room to the coffee maker. She poured herself a large cup, sipping at it while watching the few agents that were on night shift walking around, several of them working through tablets instead of sitting at a computer.

Hearing a beep come from the computer, Alex nearly dropped the cup of coffee in her haste to set it down and return to the screen. Subconsciously glad she didn’t have the cup in her hand, Alex sucked in a breath, seeing the results.

The DNA matched someone in their system. It matched HIM. The Doctor.

Alex stared at the screen, not believing what she was seeing. She pulled out her phone, dialing the first number in her speed dial.

_“Alex, what do you have?”_

“J’onn. I need you to get here in the lab. Now. We have a match.”

The sound of wind came through the phone before going silent. Moments later, J’onn stood next to her in his Martian form before morphing back to human, staring at the same screen as Alex, his face ever the mask of indifference.

“J’onn, do you want to tell me how this is possible?”

“I checked on The Doctor earlier today. He’s still in his cell, starting to go mad actually. I don’t have an explanation for this. Have you alerted Superman and Supergirl?”

Alex shook her head, “No sir, Kara and Lena were going to eat, Clark went to catch a little sleep. I wanted to make sure of what I was seeing before alerting them.”

J’onn nodded, still staring at the screen.

“Call them in.”

~~

Alex called Clark first. He said he was going to shower first, then he’d be there, five minutes tops. Hanging up with him, Alex went in search of Kara and Lena, checking the dining room first. Not finding anyone in there, Alex started going room to room, stopping finally outside the bunk rooms.

_‘please have clothes on.’_

The door pushed open silently, Alex peeking her head in slowly, afraid of what she would find. Landing on the bunk on the far side of the room, Alex’s heart warmed at what she saw.

Kara and Lena were asleep, still curled around each other. Kara was sitting up with her back and head propped up on the bunk. Lena was curled into a ball in between Kara’s legs, her head resting on Kara’s chest and her arms were loosely draped around Kara’s middle. Both women looked so relaxed, Alex couldn’t find it in her heart to disturb them. Kara’s had such a tough time lately, she needed to rest when she could.

Pulling her phone out and taking a quick picture, Alex backed out of the room, leaving the two sleeping.

Walking back to the center of the DEO, Alex was met with Winn, J’onn and Superman, Clark looking past Alex for a second before smiling, seeming to use his x-ray vision to see what had Alex smiling too.

“Where are Supergirl and Lena?”

Alex handed her phone to J’onn, his eyebrows raising slightly at the picture. Winn peeked over, having to stand on his tiptoes to see the screen.

“Oh. My. God. They are so gay.”

Alex chuckled before taking her phone back. “I’m not waking her up until we have something for her to do. She’s just going to pace around here and worry.”

“I think that’s a good idea. We’ll need her strong for what all may happen.” J’onn agreed, turning to Winn. “Mr. Schott, have you found anything to help us?”

Nodding, Winn started typing on his tablet, pulling up documents onto the large screen behind him.

“So, I’ve been digging into The Doctor’s background. Did you know, before he legally changed his name to The Doctor, his name was Fredrick Elrod. Honestly, I would change my name too. Anyway, he didn’t really have much on him. He has a doctorate degree in biophysics. Searching through his transcript, he seemed to take on an abnormal number of classes, most of them were pertaining to his major. Thrown in there were several psychology courses and medical classes that didn’t match. They specialized in the ‘abnormal’. Things like developmental and abnormal psychology, several version of anatomy courses, a surgery rotation, and a full semester in the morgue, and lastly a course in Human Sexuality and development. Honestly with the courses and how much work it would have taken, I don’t know when he slept.

“Now before school, he didn’t have a digital footprint, minus a parking ticket outside a bar. The next thing I have on him is his birth certificate. The only thing he seemed to have wrong in his life shouldn’t even have been something that affected him. I found a death certificate, Rowan Elrod. They were twins it seems, but Rowan died two days after birth, SIDS according to the report. She practiced medicine at the same hospital she gave birth in, though, after Rowan died, she quit, becoming a stay at home mother, no husband to speak of.” Winn set the tablet down, turning and looking at the documents he had pulled up on the screen.

Alex stepped closer, crossing her arms as she inspected the words on the screen. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her gut.

“The mother never had any other kids?”

“No. She never married either. She died not long after The Doctor graduated.”

“Mr. Schott, I want to make sure we turn over every lead. You many not like what I have to say next, but we’re going to double check.” J’onn stepped forward, taking a deep breath and crossing his arms. Winn looked up at him, his hands pausing over the tablet.

“Where was the twin brother buried?”

~~

Alex stood in the cool night air, chills covering her body that had nothing to do with the temperature. They were digging up a grave. The grave of a child. Clark stood beside her, his face pulled into a stoic mask. Nobody was talking, the graveyard was silent except for the sounds of shovels breaking ground. They had used a backhoe to dig as far down as they dared before using shovels to carefully find the tiny coffin.

Alex flinched as she heard a shovel hit something hard, everyone going still as they looked at each other. The agents in the grave sighed before carefully digging out the coffin. Shovels were thrown out of the hole, followed by a few agents climbing out, reaching back in to pull up a tiny box.

Alex’s heart broke seeing the small, wooden box. She pushed aside the tears and the nausea as she walked forward, the forensic equipment weighing heavy in her hands.

The agent closest to her kneeled on the ground next to the box, waiting for Alex’s order to open it. Taking a moment, Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath before locking her gaze to the agent and nodded, the crowbar easily opening the lid.

Nestled in silk were tiny bones. Alex could almost envision the baby laying there, sleeping peacefully. Steeling herself further, Alex kneeled down, opening the briefcase. Pulling out the required equipment, she goes about collecting a small piece of bone before capping the jar and nodding back to the agent next to her. Closing up the case, Alex walks back to Clark and looks up at him.

“Take me back, please.”

Nodding, hearing the sorrow in Alex’s voice, Clark bends down and picks up Alex bridal style, not commenting on how her head rests against his shoulder before taking to the skies.

~~

Several hours later the DEO was coming alive, agents coming onto shift unaware of what the night was like. Alex checked in on Kara and Lena, finding them no longer sitting up in bed, but laying down, still wrapped up in each other.

Walking into the lab, Alex glanced at the computer hoping to see the results. The bone fragment she took had to be cleaned before she could crush it down to a powder and then get the DNA, the process taking too long for her liking.

Sighing, Alex leaned forward and grabbed her phone off the charger, turning and heading to the kitchen. She had Winn patch the computer into her phone, the results would show up on her phone when they came in.

Several agents stood around the large kitchen, nobody really talking yet this early in the morning. Making herself breakfast, Alex sat at a table, eating while letting her mind wander. She knew she should try to get a nap. She was running on almost 24 hours without sleep and Maggie would kill her if she knew. As if knowing she was in Alex’s mind, the cell phone in Alex’s hand vibrated, a picture of Maggie flipping off the camera appearing. Smiling, Alex answered it.

“Hey babe.”

_“Hey. Missed you last night.”_

“Sorry, we caught a lead and there was no way I was letting someone else take over.”

_“I get it. It’s Kara. How is Little Danvers holding up?”_

“She’s sleeping thankfully. Lena has been keeping her grounded. Honestly, I don’t know how this would have played out without her here to keep Kara sane.”

_“Hold on, backup. Lena. As in Lena Luthor? I know they are friends, but how is she involved?”_

Alex paused, the mug she was about to drink from hovering in the air. Taking a quick sip to prepare herself for the explosion about to happen, Alex set the mug down before speaking quickly then taking the phone away from her ear.

“Kara and Lena are now dating.”

_“What the FUCK. Why am I just now hearing about this! Who asked who? Why didn’t you call me when you found out!”_

On and on Maggie ranted, Alex letting her before cutting her off finally, filling her in on the gossip, as well as where they were in the case.

Hearing a beep, Alex pulled her phone away from her ear before feeling her face go white, her entire body going cold.

Interrupting whatever Maggie was saying, Alex barked a quick goodbye, stating something came up and she needed to go before hanging up and running back to the center of the DEO, J’onn, Winn and Superman already standing there staring at the results.

Alex turned to Winn, desperation on her face.

“Winn, tell me it’s a mistake. I messed up somehow extracting DNA.”

Winn shook his head, his face abnormally white. “I watched you do it Alex. They’re right.”

The four of them stood there, staring at the screen.

“Now you need to wake Kara.”

~~

The sounds of people getting dressed and chatting in the locker room next to them woke Kara. Stretching, Kara looked down, smiling at Lena still curled into her chest. Stroking up and down Lena’s arm, Kara studied her face, chuckling lightly as Lena’s nose crunched as she fought waking up.

Seeing Lena blink a few times, Kara leaned down, kissing the side of her head. “Good morning sleeping beauty.”

Lena looked up at Kara before stretching, making small noises at the feel of her muscles warming. Coming back down, Lena smiled at Kara. “Good morning. How long did we sleep?”

Shrugging, Kara ran her finger down the side of Lena’s face, using one arm to prop up her head. “My guess, we slept the rest of the night. Its around 7, people are getting ready in the locker room next door.”

Sighing Lena went about mentally preparing herself to get up, “I need a shower, and to brush my teeth.”

Kara continued to stare, Lena was always so beautiful first thing in the morning. She was soft, still relaxed and free of the daily stressors. “You can take a shower here. I have my own shower; my body wash is in there. We have spare hygiene kits too, I’ll get one for you as well as a set of clothes. They’ll be DEO issue, but it’ll be clean and slightly comfortable. I’ll take my shower after you. Superspeed lets me lay here a little longer.”

“Cheater.” Lena mumbled before leaning over and kissing Kara. Sitting up, she stretched again before standing, making her way to the back of the bunks where a door connected to the locker room.

Turning on the shower with the House of El shower curtain, Lena began to strip setting her clothes into a pile on the chair near the stall. Stepping in to the warmth, Lena nearly moaned, the hot water and the water pressure feeling like a massage.

Several minutes later, Lena finally turned the water off, reaching for a towel from the stack on the shelf just outside the stall. Getting herself ready for the day, Lena lost herself in her own world, dressing into the black ensemble that was left for her.

Feeling a rush of cool air, Lena jerked to the side before hearing the water turn on behind her, Kara giggling from behind the still moving curtain. Shaking her head, Lena went back into the bunk room, taking her clothes from yesterday with her.

Tossing them down on the bed, Lena went about cleaning up from their somewhat date night. Feeling another rush of air, the room suddenly was put back, Lena dropping her hands as the candle she was holding was no longer there. Turning to the bed, she saw Kara laying there on her back her hands folding behind her head.

“You really do cheat. Is this how dating you is going to be? You zooming around and doing everything before I can lift a finger?” Lena came to stand by the bed, looking down at Kara.

Kara for the most part, was having a little fun. She grinned up at Lena, nodding rapidly, sitting up and grabbing Lena’s hips, pulling her closer.

“You’re insufferable.”

“Oh really?” Kara lifted an eyebrow, the corners of her mouth tilted up in a smirk.

Lena didn’t get a chance to warn Kara away, the room spinning, stopping suddenly as she bounced on the bed, now pinned under Kara, soft lips finding hers immediately.

Shifting slightly, Lena pulled away, the feeling of something stabbing her in the back making her extremely uncomfortable. Kara lifted off Lena, scared she went too far and let her strength slip.

 Lena sat up, pulling out the clothes she wore yesterday. “Something was digging into my back.” Lena’s breath hitched as she remembered what she was going to give Kara. Digging into the pants pocket, Lena grabbed the bracelet, hiding it behind her back as she set the clothes onto the floor.

Kara looked at Lena questioningly, her gaze darting to Lena’s hand hidden behind her.

“Ok, so it’s an addition to your suit, a piece of protection. I needed to make something more practical, something that wouldn’t break so easily like your Aunt’s chest armor did. It’s also much less bulky, and quite stylish.” Lena took a breath before bringing her hand around. Grabbing Kara’s hand, she carefully set the bracelet into Kara’s hand, still covering it from sight.

“If you don’t like the design, I can remake it into whatever you want.” Pulling her hand away, she watched as Kara looked at the bracelet, blinking rapidly.

Kara stared down at the bracelet, picking it up like she was going to break it, turning it slowly as her eyes teared up.

The metal shined, separated into multiple pieces, yet still connected, allowing the bracelet to flex and move. The center piece of metal was larger, the House of El crest glowing bright blue with blue-K. All around the bracelet were smaller veins of blue, looking like lightning leading to the connector on the back. Carved there, was what caused Kara’s tears to fall. Glowing blue was a name, “ _Zor-El”_.

Looking up at Lena, Kara couldn’t find words to express how she was feeling. Instead she slid the bracelet on, clasping it expertly before launching herself at Lena.

The two fell backwards on the bed, Kara’s lips finding Lena’s, all her emotions being poured into the kiss. Lena, for the most part, responded quickly, her lips finding a rhythm against Kara.

Kara gripped Lena’s hip with one hand, the other coming up to cup at her jaw. Slotting their hips together, Kara deepened the kiss, swallowing Lena’s moan. Lena wrapped her arms around Kara, her left-hand clutching at Kara’s back, her right threading into golden hair.

Neither woman heard the door open, too wrapped up in each other.

“OHMYGOD. MY EYES.”

Kara and Lena sprang apart, both blushing red as they spotted Alex, her face red as she covered her eyes.

“Um. Hi, Alex.” Kara stood from the bed, shifting with discomfort. Lena stayed laying on the bed, grinning at being caught by Alex.

“Ok, so when you decide to put it back in your pants, we need you both back at the coms center. There’s something we found.”  Alex rushed back out the door, Lena’s laughter floating behind her.

“Oh, Rao, I can’t believe my sister just saw me doing that!” Kara covered her face, the bright red blush spreading down her neck and over her ears.

Lena stood, pulling Kara’s hands from her face, leaning forward and giving her a chaste kiss. “My love, we’ve all been caught by someone at least once in our lifetime. Now come on, we’ve hidden away long enough, time to face the world.”

Stepping back, Lena offered her hand to Kara, leading them back out the room and into the world, their blissful bubble shattered.

~~

Kara and Lena approached the center of the room, hand in hand, Kara’s face still slightly pink.

“Sleep well?” Clark asked, grinning slightly.

Kara’s blush returned, stepping just behind Lena to hide away from the teasing.

“We slept quite well, Clark. Thank you.” Lena seemed to not be bothered by the teasing, slipping slightly into business mode. “What have you found while we slept?”

The group surrounded the center console stiffened, the atmosphere becoming tense.

Kara stepped up, looking at everyone’s face. “What is it?”

“We found an abnormality. It took some digging, but we found who has been threating you. His name is Rowan Elrod.” Winn pulled up the photo of The Doctor, Kara’s face going white.

“But that’s- “

“We don’t have a picture of him specifically, but this is who we’re looking for. The doctor has a twin brother.”

Lena reached over, grabbing Kara’s hand, silently offering her support.

Kara stared at the screen, the sounds around her fading out. She felt her heart rate triple, cold spreading through her. She vaguely heard Lena’s voice calling her name before the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I seem to say that every chapter, but I do feel bad for what I'm writing. But things are heating up!


	6. The Devil is Watching

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize now. There will be flashbacks in this chapter, starting right away.  
> Also, if you've ever seen Legend of the Seeker or read The Sword of Truth book series, you'll know who the therapist is. If you have not, don't worry! She wont be such an important character that you'll need to know, I explain it all pretty well...(I think??) If you haven't I recommend looking up at least a photo. Kahlan Amnell is the character, played in the TV series by Bridget Regan.

_Kara heard her cell door open. The last experiment He did made her feel weak. She just wanted to sleep._

_“Stand up.”_

_Kara ignored the voice. She was tired for Rao’s sake. Suddenly she was jerked off the floor by her hair, a cry escaping her lips as she scrambled to stand on her own, her hands immediately holding her head. The hand in her hair coming down to grab her arm, dragging her out of the cell._

_Kara struggled to keep up. She was led to the torture room. The man guiding her pushed the door open before throwing her into the room and shutting it behind her, leaving her alone._

_She had grown accustomed to this. Quickly stripping down to the bare-minimum, Kara found herself kneeling with her back against the walls with shackles. She had given up fighting Him. When she did as she was told, He seemed to not get as angry, the pain was less, and she didn’t get punished. Considering how tired she was, if she just played by the rules, she would get back to her cell quicker and sleep._

_Kara heard the door open, but she didn’t look up. That was one of the rules. Never look at Him unless directed to._

_The sound of the shackles above her caused her pull her arms behind her, the chain clicking into place._

_“I’ve missed this. You’re such a good girl today, I’m not even going to touch you. Maybe you can be an example to our new friend. Maybe she’ll learn the rules as quickly as you did.”_

_Kara’s eyes widened. He was going to make her watch while he tortured someone else?_

_The door opened again, and this time Kara turned her head. She was quickly met with a stinging sensation across her side as the whip came down. Gritting her teeth from crying out, Kara quickly turned back, staring at the floor._

_She could hear the girl’s struggling; the sounds of her yelling were muffled. Chains rattled from the center of the room and the girl continued to yell, even after she was strung up._

_The door shut again, leaving the three of them alone._

_He started chuckling. Kara could hear the whip drag the floor in a pattern as he walked in front of her towards the girl. He was circling around her now, no doubt running his hands across her middle. Kara flinched slightly as he heard the sounds of clothing being ripped, muffled expletives following. There was more shuffling of fabric before Kara heard it._

_“Get your filthy fucking hands off of me.”_

_Kara winced for the girl as the sound of a slap echoed in the room._

_“You will address me as Sir. Is that understood?”_

_“I will address you as nothing. You’re a psychopath if you think you’re going to get away with this.”_

_“Oh, I’ve been getting away with it. After all, if I can keep the Girl of Steel locked away for months, what makes you so special?”_

_“Supergirl is out there saving the city every day! You’re obviously deranged.”_

_“No. Supergirl is right there. Kara lift your face my dear.” Kara lifted her head her eyes still fixed on the floor._

_“Big deal, you’ve captured a pretty blonde. I’ve seen Supergirl. She saved a group of kids from a runaway bus just this morning.”_

_“You saw the Martian save those children. Tell me something, have you seen this hero use their heat vision or freeze breath in the last three months? Has this version of Supergirl stopped for a second to smile at a camera or go out of her way to help the little people? No? Because the Martian doesn’t have the same feelings for Superhero-ing as the real Supergirl. Want to know a secret? That’s how I was able to capture her. Just a well-placed cry for help, a threat of harm to someone so innocent. Now, look at her.”_

_“She’s been busy lately. So what if she isn’t the same.”_

_Kara knew he caused enough doubt for the girl. The fight had left her argument._

_“Kara dear, look up at our guest fully.”_

_Kara lifted her head, shaking the hair from out of her face. She stared at the girl. She was young, probably in her early twenties, like Kara. Her black hair was braided down her back, her make-up was smeared, and her clothes lay in shreds at her feet. She caught the girl’s eye, seeing her eyebrows draw together in recognition._

_Kara had seen this girl before. She had saved her life. She had jumped from a bridge, intending to kill herself. She sat with her for hours talking afterwards. Kara struggled to remember the girl’s name, her head was so foggy._

_“Don’t fight him, Sabrina.” Kara told the girl, a tear slipping out. She saved this girl, only to put her in danger._

_“Good girl. Now, Sabrina you’re going to- “_

_“Where did you meet me? I don’t believe you’re supergirl. You can’t be.”_

_Kara flinched as the whip came around, striking the girl and causing her to cry out._

_“YOU WILL NOT INTERRUPT ME AGAIN.”_

_The whip struck out a few more times before stopping. Kara risked a glance up. He stood behind her, his chest heaving and his face red with rage._

_Kara knew she was going to pay for her mistakes too, he was too angry now. Wanting it all to just end, Kara answered the girl._

_“I saved you from killing yourself. We sat in the park by the lake. We talked about what had happened to make you think jumping was the better option. I told you about Krypton, and what it was like when I first got to Earth, how overwhelmed I was by everything. You told me you had the same problems sometimes, how much anxiety you get around large amounts of people and how that tended to lead to sensory overload. We talked for hours before I brought you to the hospital. When we parted, I told you my name was Kara Zor-El. I told you that if you ever felt that way again, to yell my name and I would be there.”_

_The girl stared at Kara, tears streaming down her face. Kara’s eye flicked to the side, glancing at Him. If he was angry at Kara, then he wasn’t hurting her, and that Kara could live with._

_“Stand Kara.”_

_Kara stood. The chains connecting her to the wall caused her arms to pull straight behind her. He walked closer, the whip coming quickly, in rapid succession before stopping. Kara kept her jaw clenched, staring at the girl in the center of the room. She would not let this girl be more terrified by her cries._

_“I see you’ve become accustomed to the whip, Kara, or am I not hitting you hard enough? Maybe I should go back to Sabrina, see if she is affected by it?”_

_Kara dropped her head before speaking. “No, s-Sir. I’m sorry.” Kara’s inner voice was loud in her head. ‘So much for being strong. Just try to calm him down, maybe with two people he’ll tire out quicker.’_

_He walked away from them both, returning the whip to its proper place on the rack and grabbing a new object. Kara lifted her head to see what he chose. Keeping his back turned to them, He walked over to the wall, pressing a button._

_The sounds of groaning filled the room before a spray from above caused Kara to flinch, cold water falling on her. Just as quickly as it was turned on, the water stopped._

_“If you want to be strong and not cry out, I’m going to take away your ability to decide.” He walked closer to Kara, enjoying the slight shiver she was already developing. Stepping just outside the wet circle surrounding Kara, He thrusted his hand forward, the stick shaped object in his hand popping with electricity as it connected with Kara’s skin._

_Kara screamed, her knees giving out as the electricity seized up her body. It only lasted a few seconds, but she began to tremble once the current stopped. She gasped for air, the shock of the electricity leaving her breathless._

_The cattle prod touched her side again and Kara’s head flew back, a scream tearing from her throat. She collapsed the rest of the way to the ground once he released her, all her muscles trembling, no longer able to hold her up._

_Kara watched as he walked over to Sabrina, her protest covered up as Sabrina screamed once the electricity surged through her body._

_Blackness encroached on Kara’s vision, the experiment from earlier and the electric shocks causing her body to shut down, needing to rest. The sounds of screams seemed so far away, and Kara’s eyes closed, watching Sabrina go limp in her own chains._

_~~_

Kara sat up with a gasp, her heart thundering. She felt a touch on her hand, and she scrambled away, her eyes closed as she hit a wall, drawing her arms and legs in, her head burrowing under her arms to protect herself.

“Let me.” Kara heard the voice and she flinched, not wanting someone else to join in on torturing her.

The sound of someone sitting beside her caused Kara to whimper, the person though never touched her. Instead they took a deep breath before speaking, sounding almost shaken.

“Rraop nahn voi, Kara.” The sound of slightly broken Kryptonese caused Kara’s breath to skip. “It’s Lena, Kara. Rraop nahn voi. You’re at the DEO. Alex, Clark and I are here.”

Kara lifted her head, fully seeing what was around her this time, meeting Lena’s bright green eyes. She sat on the floor of the med bay next to Kara, close by, but not touching her. She spoke again, repeating the phrase but in English. “You are safe, Kara. Come back, love.”

Lena extended a hand slowly, letting Kara see everything she was doing. Kara took Lena’s hand, and pulled, Lena sliding on the floor only to be wrapped into strong arms as Kara’s head came to rest on her chest, sobs exploding from the girl.

Lena wrapped her arms around Kara, rocking slightly as she whispered words of comfort. As the sobs turned into sniffles, Kara pulled back, one hand reaching for Lena’s as she played with her fingers, not looking up at anyone yet.

“You spoke Kryptonese?” Kara’s voice was small her eyebrows drawn in confusion.

Lena smiled, squeezing Kara’s hand. “I asked Clark for a little help. I thought it would work better, being your natural language. It’s harder than I realized, and I know it wasn’t quite right, but it seemed to do the job.”

“When did you ask for help?”

“While you were out. You’ve been unconscious for around an hour and a half. I was hoping I’d never have to use the phrase, but I wanted to know just in case.”

Kara nodded, smiling slightly as she wiped away tears. Looking up at Lena, Kara pulled herself out of her head, finding her inner strength again.

They both stood, Kara reaching to hold onto Lena’s hand as they turned towards the room again. Alex and Clark stood on the other end of the room. Alex had her head down, one hand covering her face, the other wrapped around her middle. Clark stood close, his hands gripping Alex’s shoulders as he whispered something to her. Alex nodded and took a deep breath, looking up at him.

Kara walked over to Alex, the older woman turning as Kara approached her. Kara reached for Alex, pulling her sister into a hug. They stood there for a moment before pulling back. They searched each other’s eyes, holding a silent conversation then nodding, reaching an unspoken agreement.

“Let’s do this.” Kara’s voice was strong again, fear giving way to determination.

~~

J’onn stood before the door of the cell, trying to set aside his anger. The hours it took to reach the prison did nothing to help control his emotions. Morphing into his alien state, he pressed a button on small device he held, the locks of the door sliding away. The man inside looked up, squinting at the sudden invasion of light as the door opened and J’onn stepped into the cell.

“What is your name?” J’onn’s voice seemed to echo in the small cell.

“The Doctor, as I told you when you first put me in this cell. Did you forget?”

J’onn looked down at the man sitting on the thin mattress. In this cell, he seemed so tiny. The dark reddish-brown hair was dirty, a beard matching it covered most of his face. Brown eyes stared up at the Martian, mirth playing in his gaze.

“Your birth name. Who are you? Are you Fredrick or Rowan?”

Laughter echoed around the cell. “So, you learned my secret. I’m surprised you didn’t pick up on it when you read my mind Martian, or was my experiments on young Kara too much? Couldn’t stay in my mind long enough to learn of my brother? Mother’s experiment was so much fun growing up. We learned to keep a journal of everything. Every conversation was written down. After school, I would pass the journal to my brother. Nobody was ever the wiser. When mother died, we decided it was time to do our own experiments. Oh, what fun they were! The human body can only put up with so much before it gives out, though. Supergirl though! We could just charge her right back up! Have you ever heard the Girl of Steel beg for mercy! It’s such a rush! We had only just started too! My brother, he was beginning to have urges. See, switching out in life constantly didn’t really leave us time to live as men, but having Kara on her knees in front of him, that awakened a beast. He would describe the feeling of her body to me, how he would run his hand –“

“Your. Name. Now.” J’onn’s hand gripped the man’s throat, seeing a flash of fear before it vanished.

Swallowing around the hand gripping his neck, the man began to chuckle.

“Rowan’s going to have so much fun breaking her, and there’s nothing you can do to stop him.”

~~

The group ended up back into the center of the DEO, nobody bringing up the recent events.

“Hey! While you were gone, I found something of interest on our man, or at least one of them. Now that we know they both existed, and most likely traded places, I never know which one I’m talking about. Anyway, I ran an algorithm through the city-wide camera system, pulling up as much footage as I could considering it gets deleted after six months. I kept it focused on Kara, not Supergirl and found our guy.”

Winn tapped his keyboard a few times, several stills of a video feed appearing on the screen. In each one, there was a person with a plain black hat on circled in red.

“Winn, you can’t see his face, how can you sure?” Alex questioned.

“Because, this same face-hiding man follows Kara. He’s always around CatCo, and when Kara leaves as a human, he gets up and follows her, until she ducks away and becomes Supergirl. I have him in several places following Kara. She moves, he mirrors her. He followed her to L-Corp one day, then to Noonan’s where he went inside and sat in a corner watching her eat.”

Kara visibly shuddered. She had never noticed someone following her. In a city with so many people, she had to tune most of it out, otherwise it would be too much.

“OK, so we know he followed her, what does that solve?”

Winn pressed a few more keys before a video showed up. The man was talking with someone in an alley, a brown bag being passed to him, the other man disappearing into the shadows.

“I decided to follow him, starting with most recently. This was taken a week ago. Now I don’t know what was exchanged, but obviously an alleyway exchange means nothing good.”

“Winn, send that to me. I’ll bring it to Maggie. Maybe someone over at NCPD know who this guy was that supplied whatever was in that bag.” Alex turned away, picking up her phone to call Maggie, Winn turning around and typing away at his computer.

“What now?” Kara asked, looking between Clark and Lena.

“Now it’s more of a waiting game. J’onn decided to go talk to the prisoner, try to get some answers out of him. We wait until he returns, I guess. Chances are that’ll be several hours. This guy is a ghost. We have no way to track him until he shows back up.” Clark shrugged, leaning onto the console.

Winn turned around, putting in his thoughts. “I have facial recognition software running, if he shows up, I’ll let you know. Go flying for a little bit, keep your phones on and I’ll let you know as soon as we have something.”

Kara nodded, walking away. She needed to get herself centered again.

“Kara, wait. I have an alternate idea.” Lena reached out for Kara’s hand, pulling her to the side. She dug around her purse for a minute before pulling out a card. “Jess gave me this, she specializes in alien psychology. Now might be a good time to go talk to her? You don’t have to, I’m not going to force you to do it. But it might help, especially with all this being brought back up.”

Kara took the card and looked it over. She was skeptical about going to someone, about talking and reliving what happened.

“The DEO has a therapist.” Kara argued, still staring at the card.

“Yes, but can you be totally transparent with them? I know you, you probably have held things back because you work here, you don’t want them to know. This would be someone detached from the situation.”

Kara considered her options. She could go, just to meet her. If she didn’t like it, she didn’t have to go back. Nodding, Kara took out her phone, calling the number.

~~

Luckily, Dr. Blackbourn had an opening. Not very long, but enough for an introductory meeting. Kara and Lena flew there, stopping quickly at Kara’s apartment to grab civilian clothes.

Stepping out of the elevator, Kara was struck by how much the office felt like an apartment. The receptionist’s desk was right as you walked in, separate from the waiting area. The walls were a soft, sandy color, the trim surrounding it a dark brown. There were two fluffy, black couches facing a wall, an electric fireplace burning and putting off a small amount of heat. A television was mounted above it, the controls placed on the glass coffee table in the middle of the room. A small kitchen was nestled to the side, the refrigerator was glass, showing off rows of drinks, a sign hanging above it, encouraging people to take one.

A door opened behind them, both women turning around. A fairly younger looking woman stood in the doorway, long dark brown hair flowing freely. She had light green eyes, not quite the same as Lena’s and a friendly smile on her face.

“Come in, both of you.”

Kara reached for Lena’s hand, stepping towards the door left open for them. Once they were inside the room, Kara looked around, noticing how the apartment theme continued into this room. There was a small desk, shoved over to a corner, bookshelves lined three of the walls, the fourth was nothing but a large window, decorated with a window seat and several pillows.

Lena stared at the window. It didn’t seem right to have something so open for otherwise a pretty private affair.

“The window is one way. You can look out, but anyone looking up, can’t see in. They see what looks like curtains drawn. A little spell my husband did for me.” Lena turned to the woman, confused at the words.

“A spell? Like magic?”

Dr. Blackbourn chuckled, used to the disbelief.

“Yes, exactly like magic. We have aliens living among us, most of them with powers, yet magic seems farfetched? My husband and I both posses magic. Different forms of it, but magic, nonetheless. Why don’t you two have a seat, we’ll learn about each other. I’ll answer any question and will be completely open and honest, I only ask you to do the same.”

The three women sat, Lena and Kara on one couch, Dr. Blackbourn curling up on the other. She pulled her feet onto the couch, leaning her body onto the armrest. Lena noticed Kara relax slightly, her grip on Lena’s hand not so strong. Realizing she’s reading body language, Lena leans back, the couch being big enough she’s able to pull her legs up and have them crossed under her. Kara’s head turns, and seeing Lena getting comfortable, she shifts drawing her legs up and grabbing a pillow to hold onto, leaning onto Lena.

“Good, ok, we’ll start with you.” Dr. Blackbourn nodded at Lena, noticing how Kara was taking a moment to relax into the situation.

“I’m Lena.”

“Ok Lena, are you an alien or human? What’s your relationship to, I presume, Kara here?”

Lena chuckled lightly. “Kara’s my girlfriend, and I’m human. Honestly the irony in this is slightly funny.”

Dr. Blackbourn turned her head, just minutely. “Why is that?”

“You don’t know. I’m Lena Luthor. The idea of me, a Luthor, being asked if she was an alien is a little weird considering how my family is.”

“Obviously you don’t share their views, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. Assuming, Kara, you’re an alien?”

Kara nodded, looking at Lena before saying more. The two held a quick conversation with their eyes, Lena leaving it up to Kara if she wanted to reveal who she was.

“I’m an alien, yes. The irony of me dating Lena isn’t lost to me, especially because of who I am.”

Dr. Blackbourn waited a moment, letting Kara continue at her own pace.

“Honestly, with everything that’s happened, a Luthor dating Supergirl is almost ironically funny.”

Kara went silent, letting Dr. Blackbourn’s raised eyebrows speak for themselves.

“Lena, I take it your family isn’t too happy about this?”

“My family doesn’t know. I could care less about their opinion on my life at this point. As far as they will know, I’ll be dating Kara Danvers, not Supergirl.”

Kara grimaced before cutting in. “Actually, your mother knows.”

Lena turned, wide eyed. “What do you mean my mother knows? Knows I’m dating you, or that you’re Supergirl?!”

Kara looked down sheepishly. “That I’m Supergirl. She’s known for a while. When she kidnapped me and brought me Cadmus headquarters, that was one thing she held over me to make me blow out my powers.”

Lena pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. “I swear, I can’t wait to see her in a cell just like Lex.”

Dr. Blackbourn watched this exchange, smiling at the two. Silence fell between them as they both processed this information. Kara looked up, a question popping up in her mind.

“You said you have magic, what do you do?”

A dark shadow passed over Dr. Blackbourn’s eyes, memories flooding her vision for a moment.

“I have the ability to take away a person’s will. They become a shell of who they were, their only thought being how to serve me. Honestly, I haven’t used it in years. I have always hated the power. I was afraid to even touch someone, especially as a child, just in case I didn’t have full control.”

“That must have been hard, especially if you grew up around here with so many people.”

Dr. Blackbourn smiled. For being an alien, Kara knew so little.

“Oh, Kara. My childhood was spent first in the woods, then in castles. I was taught later on how to control my powers, years after my mother had died. The amount of people alive back then, in the entire region, wouldn’t come close to just how many live in National City now.”

Lena sat up further, intrigued now.

“When you say back then, what do you mean?”

Dr. Blackbourn looked at fixed point on the wall, doing a rough calculation. Most of her patients, once they found out about her magic, didn’t care. They knew she was like them, an outsider, and didn’t pry any further. “I’d say roughly 650 years ago? We didn’t pay attention much to dates, there was more important things to worry about. Think ‘Dark Ages.’ Don’t get too excited” Dr. Blackbourn noticed the wide-eyed look in both women. “A spell to defeat an enemy went a little off. Richard and I ended up outside of space and time. Naturally, we don’t age the same as normal humans, but we only came back to this plane of existence somewhere in the 80’s.  It was quite a shock!” Dr. Blackbourn laughed, only to be met with silence.

Kara and Lena sat frozen, trying to process what was said. Kara seemed to recover quicker, her eyes finally darting up to meet the Dr.’s. “Your time spent in limbo, what was it like?”

Dr. Blackbourn turned her head for a moment. That’s something she’s never been asked. “It wasn’t much. It was white nothing-ness. I was vaguely aware of Richard, but it was like I was in a state between waking up and going to sleep. There was no time. It seemed like ages since the light engulfed us, and yet, like we blinked, and it was already gone. The world we knew had changed. We weren’t surrounded by trees anymore. There were so many people, sounds, and smells. I actually hurt someone when we woke up in an alley. I lashed out with my magic. It took several months to understand, the man I controlled ended up being how we learned to fit in.”

Kara nodded, finding some understanding. “It’s the exact opposite of the phantom zone. I was surrounded in darkness and felt completely alone. There was an occasional shape, a phantom that was a different type of darkness would float by my pod. I would enter hypersleep, and then be awakened for a while, the lights of the console being the only light I could see. It’s why I don’t do dark and enclosed spaces. Being stuck in that for 24 years makes you never want to return.”

A clock beeped on the wall, startling the three women in the room.

“I’m sorry, my next appointment will be arriving shortly. Kara, I encourage you to come back. We obviously have a lot to talk about.”

The women rose, Kara nodding and offering her hand. “Dr. Blackbourn, I’d love that actually. It’d be nice to talk with someone who has some understanding of being different. Thank you for squeezing me- us, in on such short notice.”

Dr. Blackbourn nodded, accepting Kara’s hand and then Lena’s. “Absolutely, Kara. Lena, you’re welcome here as well. I do see humans too, and it may do Kara some good to have you here sometimes.”

Kara and Lena walked out, Kara making another appointment before they stepped into the elevator.

“I like her, Lee.”

Lena hummed, turning to Kara.

“I do too. I haven’t been to a therapist that open and honest before. She’ll be good for you Kara. Next appointment though, I think you should go in by yourself. I’ll stay in the lobby.”

Kara turned to Lena, confused. Lena reached forward, running a finger over the crinkle in Kara’s brow. “You’ll feel more comfortable telling her how you felt, your deepest emotions and fears. You may not think so, but once you start exposing it, you’ll want to close up and not let anyone hear you be vulnerable. It’ll be easier having just one person listening. I understand the most of it, but if you absolutely want me there, I will.”

The doors to the elevator opened, and Kara stepped out, holding Lena’s hand as she thought about what she wanted to do next.

~~

Winn looked through video footage late into the night. Everyone had been sent home to try and get some rest. J’onn was due back sometime in the early morning hours, and they couldn’t continue standing around with nothing to do.

He had followed Kara’s movement’s for months before coming to the end. Deciding to check on everyone, he pulled up video footage of Lena, Maggie, and Clark. Skipping rapidly through their daily life and finding nothing, Winn moved on to Alex. Sipping at his coffee, he fast-forwarded through several hours, choking slightly as the sight of Alex and Maggie making out in the alley outside a bar suddenly took up his screen. Scrambling to skip the adult content that it was turning into, Winn spilled his coffee down his shirt, rapidly pressing buttons on the keyboard and he coughed, trying to clear the coffee from his lungs.

Deciding to just skip through Alex’s footage, he began watching the next day, only watching small snippets before skipping to another day. Stopping at the last footage he had, the morning at the graveyard, Winn reached for the mouse, intending to close the video feed.

The sound of a mug shattering caused a few heads to turn. Winn sat frozen in front of the screen, the video paused. Zooming in on the background, Winn pulled up a grainy looking picture. Standing in the shadow of the trees stood Rowan. One hand clutching a tree, a look of murderous rage on his face.

Winn threw himself sideways, reaching for his phone.

_“What is it, Winn?”_ Alex’s groggy voice came over the phone.

“Alex! He was there! Rowan! He was at the gravesite when you dug up his not-body! Alex, he looks pissed! Where are you?”

_“Winn, slow down. I’m at home, with Maggie. What do you mean he was there?”_

“He was in the tree line, watching. Alex, he had not been following you, I checked. He was just there!”

_“Thanks, Winn. I’m headed that way with Maggie now. We’re going to go have a look around. Let Clark know, maybe he can do a sweep from above?”_

The line went dead as Alex hung up. Winn wasted no time, dialing Clark’s number. If Clark was asleep, he didn’t sound like it when he picked up. Winn quickly relayed what he had found, Clark quickly saying he’d be at the graveyard in a few minutes.

~~

Clark flew over the area, able to see much more in the night than Alex and Maggie, so far only seeing the two on the motorcycle, empty woods surrounding them for miles. The earpiece he had turned back on crackled, Alex’s voice coming through, slightly muffled by the helmet she wore.

_“I don’t see a reason for him to be out here. With the graveyard being small and hidden away out of the city limits, it makes no sense.”_

Clark agreed, scanning the woods closer. Seeing something slightly off, he started flying towards the main road.

“Alex, there’s a little dirt road coming up on your left. I think there’s something in the trees. I’m going to go take a look.”

Alex slowed her motorcycle down, looking for the road in the darkness. Finding an opening in the grass, Alex turned, the pathway being cleared just enough that she could maneuver her bike through the woods.

Seeing Superman standing at the end, Alex slowed down, stopping just to the side of where Clark stood in the dark. Maggie and Alex climbed off, flanking Clark at the tree-line.

“The graveyard is just through the woods on the other side of the road. I don’t know how I missed this from overhead.”

There was a small clearing, large trees covering most of the sky. On the ground, and into the trees was what looked like a home. The entire home looked like a tree house, each piece added on as it was needed. The main floor held the door, stairs coming from the roof and up to a few rooms suspended into the trees.

“I don’t see anyone inside, but that doesn’t mean anything. We need to be careful.” The three stepped up to the home, Alex switching on a flashlight and drawing her gun, Maggie mirroring her as they stood on each side of the door.

Clark turned the door knob, opening the door slowly. Hearing a click, he released the door quickly, pulling both Alex and Maggie to him, turning his back to the door. The sound of a gunshot echoed through the quiet forest, the two women’s ears ringing at the sudden intrusion of sound.

Alex rolled over, looking up at Clark.

“Fuck!”

Alex’s voice rang out into the silence, seeing green veins crawling up Clark’s face.

“It’s not so bad. Get the bullet out Alex.” Clark grunted as he fell to his knees, sweat rolling down his face.

Scrambling to Clark’s back, Alex took in the bullet wound. It was small, the bullet glowing a bright green just inside his skin. Alex reached in, wincing as Clark grunted with the pain. Pulling the bullet out and tossing it back towards her bike to get later, Clark sat up, gulping in a lungful of air. The green receded quickly, another glow taking on the area. Bright blue glowed from Clark’s belt, the buckle on his suit seeming to glow in tune to his heartbeat.

“What is that?” Maggie pointed to the belt buckle.

Clark breathed again, feeling completely normal once again. Looking down, the blue glow going soft again, Clark tapped the buckle. “Lena made it, the blue-k seems to work pretty well, even in small doses. A kryptonite bullet would’ve normally completely incapacitated me, even killed me if I didn’t get help. Remind me to thank her when we get back.”

“I helped with that. You’re welcome.” Alex muttered, relief flooding her body as Clark stood, turning back to the home.

They continued on, pushing the door open completely now. Sitting on the other side of the door was a lead box, the front of it fallen open, a gun placed inside.

“Seems he was ready for a Kryptonian to open the door. That’s a smart set up, I’ll admit. Hiding the gun loaded with Kryptonite bullets in a led box.”

Stepping into the home, Alex and Maggie used their flashlights, lighting up a normal looking living space. There were basic furnishings, no electricity and a small fireplace tucked away in what Alex would assume as being the kitchen area. To their left, behind a small bathroom was a staircase, leading to a hatch in the roof. The three of them went up, coming out on the roof of the home. Alex and Maggie split, Maggie going up the second ladder to the right, Alex going to the left. Alex almost felt like a kid going up into a treehouse, except she had blood on her hands and her gun tucked into her side.

Pushing open the hatch slowly, Alex climbed into the room, turning her flashlight back on and looking around, gasping at what she saw. Every surface was covered with pictures. Kara’s face lined every wall in the room. Some of the pictures were of Kara in her everyday life, some of them were her as Supergirl. Magazine covers and stills from newspapers and television coverage were scattered into the pictures. A few boxes were halfhazardly stacked in the corner, near a beanbag.

Clark, hearing Alex’s heartrate spike, came up through the door, taking in the room.

“He’s entirely obsessed with her.”

“Guys! The other room is clear, it’s just his bedroom. Did you find anything?” Maggie’s voice caused them both to jump, neither able to answer her.

Seeming to not want to wait for an answer, Maggie climbed the ladder, joining Alex and Clark.

“Holy, shit.”

Alex nodded, not able to actually form words. She continued looking at each photo, moving on to the next wall. She could hear Maggie digging into the boxes, the sound of her gasp causing Alex to turn and look at what Maggie had found.

Clark beat Alex to Maggie, his face going white before turning away, muttering about calling Winn and getting a team to process everything.

Reaching Maggie, who seemed to be frozen, staring at a picture in her hand, Alex reached for the photo, a sob escaping her as she took in what she saw.

Kara’s face stared back at her, her eyes closed, and head propped up with a hand reaching from around the camera. Blood dripped from various cuts, on her body, her arms being the only thing supporting her.

He took pictures of his torture, judging from the box, there were lots of photos, none of which Alex wanted to see, but she knew she needed to.

Falling to her knees, her hands shaking, she reached for the next photo, sobbing as she took in the state of her sister. Photo after photo was pulled from the box, Maggie coming to sit behind Alex, rubbing her back to give her some comfort. Each photo was of Kara in that place, some being tortured, some of the experiments.

Reaching the last one, Alex stared at it before scrambling towards the hatch, feeling like she was going to be sick. Kara’s eyes had stared up at her, lifeless, the veins in her body glowing green, various places on her body cut open. He had killed her and took a trophy picture.

Nobody noticed the small camera set up in the corner of the room, the wire connecting to a single solar panel in the roof, a small transmitter blinking red in the dark night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wanted to use the end notes this time not as an apology, but as a thank you. I want you to know I read the comments and smile, each one giving me inspiration to continue on writing!
> 
> I also wanted to get an opinion.
> 
> I plan on having a pure Supercorp scene, I'm just not sure how far to go with it.  
> Kara and Lena are going to have some alone time, uninterrupted! I'm just not sure if I want to go there in this piece of work. What do y'all want? Should I go full smut, or leave it to your imagination, just writing down the work up to right before it becomes smut, and then cutting to the afterglow?
> 
> (Keep in mind, after I finish this story, I will be writing some other shorter pieces, some pure smut one-shots, and then some domestic Supercorp as well.)


	7. The Devil Returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS.  
> Ok, this chapter is hard. All the trigger warnings.  
> They watch the videos of the torture.  
> There is a scene talking about attempted suicide.  
> There is some...PG-13?? Smut.  
> THERE IS ANGST. (more than normal. and I AM SORRY.)

The sound of a phone buzzing brought Lena out of her sleep. She was warm, a weight surrounding her making her chase the darkness, not wanting to wake up. The buzzing quit and she relaxed back into the bed, her mind already turning fuzzy as sleep came rushing back.

Groaning as the buzzing started back, Lena stretched an arm back and blindly felt for the offending noise, intending to throw it across the room. Finding the phone, Lena pulled it to her, cracking an eye open and blearily reading the name flashing. Sighing, Lena answered.

“Alex, it’s three thirty in the morning and you may run on coffee and adrenaline, but some of us need to sleep.” Lena voice cracked, still thick with sleep. She opened her eyes more to take in her surroundings. Kara had curled into her completely, a mess of dirty blond hair nestled into her chest, arms gripping her middle and legs tangled together. Kara’s breathing never changed, too far into her dreams to be woken by a phone call.

“Lena-“Alex’s voice cracked, Lena could hear how she had been crying.

“What happened.” Lena was awake, Kara being the only thing stopping her from shooting up in the bed.

“It’s bad. There’s…He…” Alex’s voice cracked, and static followed.

“Lena,” Maggie’s voice came across this time, still sad but not broken. “He documented the entire thing. Everything they did to her. There’s pictures and a box of CD’s, I’m guessing videos, all labeled with dates and times. We’re headed to the DEO with it all now. You need to get Kara here, for her safety.”

Lena’s entire body was cold. She looked down at Kara, still in full cuddle mode, a light snore coming from her. Lena couldn’t wake her up. She was peaceful, her mind wandering freely.

“Maggie, I don’t think I should wake her. She doesn’t sleep this good very often, and I don’t think she should have to relieve it all.”

“No, Lena. When I say pictures, I mean he’s been watching her, for years. He’s entirely obsessed with Kara. He has access to kryptonite too. Clark was shot with a bullet made of it.”

Lena struggled to pry herself out of Kara’s hold. Grunting with effort, she finally broke free, freezing as Kara muttered about a kitten, rolling face first and grabbing Lena’s pillow, bringing it to her face.

Sighing that she stayed asleep, Lena went into the living room, starting a pot of coffee.

“How is Clark?”

“Clark is fine. That belt buckle you made worked wonders. He couldn’t reach the bullet in his back, so it was causing problems, but once we got it out, he healed right up. But, Lena, Kara needs to be somewhere safe. Pack clothes for you both, he knows you’re involved in her life and he may view you as a threat. We’ll be there by the time you get everything ready.”

Sighing, Lena reached for a mug, she needed the caffeine now.

“I’ll pack everything and then wake her up. She needs to stay blissfully unaware as long as possible.”

“Ok. And, Lena?” There was a pause as Maggie gathered herself. “Be careful, Kara might be pretty indestructible, but you’re human. We need you around.” The line went silent then, Lena pulling the phone from her ear to look at it. Maggie and she weren’t close, but it did something to Lena to hear that someone else cared for her.

Pushing aside the feelings, her CEO discipline kicking in, Lena went to pack several bags, taking a large sip of coffee to wake her body up.

~~

With bags packed, and Lena now on her third cup of coffee, she walked into the bedroom, turning on a lamp near the bed.

Lena took in the sight in front of her, her heart hurting with emotion. She honestly loved the woman laying diagonal across the bed, sheets wrapped loosely around her body, one leg sticking out, her arms spread leaving the sheet to stop mid back with the faded band t-shirt covering the rest of her. Her blonde hair was disheveled, her face sideways on the bed itself, Lena’s pillow under her arm.

Lena sat on the edge of the bed, brushing Kara’s hair from her face.

“Kara, love. I need you to wake up.”

Kara’s face stayed slack. Sitting this close, Lena could hear the tiny snore leaving Kara’s open mouth. Lena scratched Kara’s back lightly, the action being just enough for Kara to stir, her mouth closing as she mumbled something in Kryptonian.

Leaning forward, Lena kissed the side of Kara’s face, mumbling her name each time she kissed her.

Finally, Lena leaned back, hearing her name mumbled.

“Lee, ‘m sleeping.” Kara turned her face into the bed, refusing to wake up.

“I know, but I need you to wake up. We need to go.”

“Five more minutes.”

Lena chuckled, brushing the hair from Kara’s face again. “I gave you an extra twenty minutes. Alex and Maggie found some things, Kar, we need to leave.”

Lena knew Kara was awake then, her body tensing on the bed. Kara lifted her face, her eyes still holding sleep as she stared at Lena. Seeing the sad look in her eyes, Kara nodded, bringing herself to a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.  Blinking away the sleep from her brain, Kara focused on the room, one thing at the edge of the room catching her eye.

“Why are there bags?”

Lena reached for Kara’s hand, knowing she wasn’t going to like what they were about to do.

“We need to hide for a little while. It involves what Alex and Maggie found. Come on, we need to get going.”

Kara gripped Lena’s hand, finding strength in the calm CEO.

~~

Kara touched down in the DEO, setting Lena down and taking the bags from her. Ever since they left the apartment, Kara had been quiet, her eyes betraying a storm of emotion. Lena filled her in as she got ready, everything Maggie told her, Lena relayed to Kara, not wanting her to be blindsided. Kara walked away, taking the bags to, presumably, the bunk room, needing to process her feelings alone.

Lena walked over to Winn, who had a grim look on his face. Uncharacteristically, Lena flopped into a chair next to him, the weight of everything making her not care about being proper.

Winn nodded, understanding the feeling. He turned to the computer muttering, “It’s fucked up.”

Lena’s eyes widened, her head turning so fast she felt the pull of her muscles. Winn didn’t cuss. He was like Kara; his cuss words were disguised as nerdy references.

Winn caught the bewildered stare out of the corner of his eye. Shrugging, he started typing, pulling up live body cam footage of the agents that cleared the home. Having several videos playing on a split screen, he leaned back, letting Lena sit up and get closer to see what he meant.

Lena watched in horror as the room with all the pictures came into view. Several agents had started taking down pictures, three of them working just on one wall.

“Alex, Maggie and Clark brought back what they could wanting to keep the worst of it contained to just us. These agents are just clearing the home now.”

The agent Lena was watching the feed of turned, the video showing an entirely new wall of pictures, completely untouched. The pictures came forward as they walked closer, beginning to take down the photos and place them in a box at their feet. Turning away, Lena felt cold sweat break out across her body. Her mind would run wild with fear, making her sick, if she let it.

“Alex asked if you would meet her in the training room. They’re setting up in there. She said an interrogation room would’ve been too small and confined. I called J’onn, he’s about another hour away.”

Lena stood, not ready to walk in there, but if another set of eyes helped find something, she’d do it.

Risking a glance behind her, Lena leaned over to Winn. “Watch out for Kara. She doesn’t need to see what we’re about to see, she lived it. Let her help you here or something.”

Winn nodded, agreeing completely. Lena walked towards the training room on the other side of the DEO, squaring her shoulders and shoving her emotions down.

~~

Alex set up a couple tables, two laptops with headphones on one, the box with all the pictures on the other. Setting the CD cases between the two laptops she steeled herself for what she was going to see, Maggie and Clark reaching for the pictures. Hearing the door open, she glanced up, Lena walking in the room and coming straight for her.

“You don’t have to do this.” Alex said, bringing the headphones up to her ears.

Lena sat in the chair next to her, grabbing her own headphones and staring at Alex.

“If there’s going to be video of the experiments, you need another person who understands what is happening looking at this.” Lena reached for the first CD, opening the drive on the computer and placing it in, determination written on her face.

Alex breathed deeply, reaching for the next CD and starting it on her computer. The video feed came up, showing Kara pacing around a room, messing with the bracelets on her wrists. Hours of footage were skipped through, each CD being of the beginning days of when Kara was captured and left alone.

Kara would pace the room, running her hands along every inch of the walls looking for a weakness. After a few hours, she would sit in the middle of the room on the floor pulling herself into a trance as she meditated.

Alex glanced over at Lena’s screen, seeing much the same, just slightly more frantic as it was her first day there.

Skipping ahead to where Kara got up again, she watched Kara inspect the bed, the mattress being plain. Skipping further, Alex found Kara sitting on the floor by the bed, her face close to the mattress as she ran her finger along every seam. As she reached the end of the bed, the video feed goes dark for a moment before turning green, Kara still sitting on the floor looking around. Getting up, Kara feels around for the mattress before laying down, pulling the thin sheet around her. Without her powers, she couldn’t see in the dark any better than humans.

Skipping through the hours she slept, Alex reached the end of the video. Day 2 as a prisoner was done.

Seeing movement to her side, Alex turned, Lena reaching for the next CD as well.

“It makes it easier seeing that she’s not hurt, at least for now.”

Lena’s eyes met Alex’s, her body language may not give anything away, but Lena’s eyes swirled with emotion, the light normally lighting up her green eyes was gone. She shrugged, moving on to the next video, unable to find anything to say without breaking.

~~

For the next three hours, Lena and Alex powered through each video, each one being the same as the last. Kara would walk the cell for a little while, meditate, eat whatever was dropped into her cell, then inspect the bed. She would do this twice, every video and in the same order before the lights went off and she went to sleep, each video showing her moving more slowly and taking longer to wake up.

Reaching the end of the first month, Lena and Alex paused before reaching for the next disk. They knew this was the beginning. There was no turning back once they started. Lena broke first, the second month starting on her screen.

Lena sat, watching as Kara dragged herself off the bed, her feet sliding to the floor as she struggled to wake up. Kara stood, starting her daily routine. Halfway through inspecting the wall, the sound of a door opening caused Kara to turn around, backing into the wall.

Lena could feel her heart begin to race as the men appeared on the video, one opening the door to her cell. His voice made Lena shiver as he demanded she follow them. Kara went without a fight, seeming to size up both of them before determining that in her weakened state she couldn’t win.

The video feed cuts to what looks like a makeshift operating room. A surgical table was dead center, under a bright light, surgical equipment lying in trays on small tables all over the room. The floor was a smooth, dark grey concrete, drains placed in multiple parts on the floor. There was a few pieces of large equipment scattered around, some covered in plastic. Most of it seemed rather standard, mobile x-ray machine and ultrasound equipment the most recognizable.

Kara entered the laboratory slowly, looking around with a scared look on her face. The men walked in behind her, grabbing her and bringing her to the table, easily lifting her even as she struggled, muffled curses coming from her. She was placed on the table and strapped down, the two men walking back to the door to stand.

Lena covered her mouth, watching Kara struggle on the video feed before stopping, her head moving around as she looked at the equipment. Lena heard a voice clearly then, her blood running cold.

_“Welcome to the play room, Kara. I’m going to have so much fun in here.”_

Kara’s eyes grew big as the man stepped out of the shadows, Lena not even noticing that he was there until he moved, his dark scrubs helping him blend in. He walked over to one of the tables, pulling out vials and test tubes.

Kara cursed at him, straining against the restraints. Lena almost smiled, mentally applauding the fight Kara kept. The man continued his work, taking blood and samples, ignoring Kara completely. Kara, after a while, gave up struggling and just watched, pure rage fixed on her face.

Finishing whatever he was doing, the man left with his samples and the two men at the door removed Kara from the table, letting her walk between them as they went back to her cell.

The video feed cut back to the cell. Kara walked in and immediately began pacing, running her hands over her arms and muttering to herself. Kara walked over to the bed, using the wall to guide her down to the floor, she sat, curling in on herself and propping her head on her hands. Lena could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to understand what was going on. Food dropped onto the floor next to her, Kara reaching for it and eating before going back to her position, her facial expressions changing slightly as she ran scenarios in her head.

Lena skipped the video through, finding only Kara curled up, standing up to pace for a little while, then returning to her place on the floor. Before Lena knew it, the lights were off, and Kara was crawling into bed. Skipping through the night to the end, Lena reached for the next on the stack, anxiety curling in her stomach. She knew each one was going to get worse, but they needed to know what happened.

~~

Kara sat next to Winn, watching the video feed of the agents clearing Rowan’s home. She knew where everyone else was, Winn not able to keep it a secret from her. She was tuned into Lena’s heartbeat, only half watching the video feed. After the initial shock of seeing the room, Kara was able to disconnect from it, finding the pictures being pulled off the walls a little therapeutic. Instead of focusing on the screen, she focused on Lena. Her heartbeat was steady, fast, but steady. Listening to her breathing, clued Kara in more. They must not have seen anything too revealing yet, Lena’s reactions being steady, breathing normally.

J’onn had walked in a while ago, seeming more silent than normal after revealing that Rowan was, in fact, the twin that took pleasure in torture. He was incredibly tense, the veins in his neck and arms standing out as he stood completely still, adopting a military stance while watching the video. Kara understood that he was trying to process information and set aside emotions, but seeing him as he was, was making her nervous.

“J’onn, what happened while you were gone?”

J’onn thought back to the prison, seeing into The Doctor’s mind, and then doing everything in his power to not kill the sick bastard where he stood.

J’onn’s eyes darted to Kara, not revealing anything behind the stoic mask.

“Nothing of importance. Just the ranting of an insane human.” He fixed his gaze back on the screen, causing Kara to sigh. Looking at her watch, Kara groaned. She had an appointment with Dr. Blackbourn today, but time seemed to crawl. There was still another four hours before she could go and do anything, even if it was just going to talk. Anything would be better than sitting, not allowed to even be Supergirl.

“Guys, looks like they found something.”

Winn’s voice caused Kara to sit up, searching the video feeds up on the screen. On one camera, an agent was pointing to the upper corner of the room. Kara only saw darkness. The agent got closer, reaching into the corner to grab whatever they saw, pulling it free. Kara saw wires as the agent stepping down some, their hand turning to reveal a small video camera.

Winn started typing furiously, ordering the agent to read off serial numbers on the camera. The camera was dropped, slowly, the wires letting it hang in the air. The hand on the screen followed the wire back to the corner, the feed going dark as they inspected the corner. 

“If the wires that lead into the wall go up, you need to go up. There’s a power source somewhere, otherwise, why have a dead camera?” Winn spoke into the earpiece, hoping he was right. If there was a lone camera, there must be a way for the video feed to be transmitted. With it being stationary in the corner, the feed would have to be through the airwaves, satellite or Bluetooth. If it was, he could hack it and trace it.

Light returned to the video, the agent leaving the room and going towards the small window that provided the light, climbing out of it and pulling themselves onto the roof.

There on the roof, nestled into the wood was a solar panel, a small antenna nestled in beside it.

“grab the transmitter. I need the numbers and model off of it, now!” Winn was nearly vibrating with energy as the numbers were read to him. A few keystrokes later, a video feed popped up, the floor of the room visible.

“YES!”

Winn continued typing, pulling up a map of National City. A circle appeared on the map, every thirty seconds growing smaller. Zooming in further, the circle began closing in, highlighting a few blocks on the map before zeroing in on a building, the name and address coming up.

“DAMN-IT.” Winn shoved the keyboard away and Kara looked up at the name flashing on the map. It was an internet café across town, just off the main street leaving towards the woods.

“Winn, this is good isn’t it? We know where he is!” Kara jumped up, gesturing wildly at the screen.

“If that’s where he still was. The feed is streaming there, but hasn’t been accessed for hours, not since Alex, Maggie and Clark got there. He must have left his laptop there, scared off at the possibility of being found.”

“Winn, that’s still good news!”

Winn looked up at Kara, wondering where she was going with it.

“If he left the laptop, that means we can get it and see what he has on it. J’onn, come on. Let me do a little Supergirl work! You can go with me as back up!”

J’onn looked up at the screen, deciding. They could be in and out quickly, and two aliens were better than one. Nodding at Kara, flinching as she squealed and ran off to change into her suit.

~~

Lena, Alex, Maggie, and Clark had made it through several hours of research. Maggie and Clark had organized the photos by the dates written on the back. Needing to take a break, they both left, going in search of lunch.

Lena and Alex stayed sitting in silence, each one tense as they watched the screens.

Lena finished her latest video, reaching for the next one, anxiety coiling into her stomach as the feed started, the noise causing her to reach for the volume button. They had made into the middle of the second month, most of the experiments being mild, the women able to power through the nausea watching it caused.

This time, it was different. The experiment had already started; sleep deprivation. Lena had a bad feeling in her gut, watching Kara stumble around the room trying to stay awake. Her body still held barely healed cuts, the clothes he would give her barely covered her they were so worn out.

Lena watched as Kara sat on the mattress, her head nodding back and forth with exhaustion. The sound returned, and Kara yelled, covering her ears and curling into a ball. It continued, Kara starting to rock back and forth on the bed. After another two minutes, Kara leaned over, tears falling down her face.

Finally, the sound stopped, Lena sighing in relief as well. The only sound now was Kara’s cries, until the sound of a door opening caused Lena’s heart to speed up. Kara didn’t seem to notice. The Doctor came to stand in front of Kara’s cell, waiting for her to notice him.

She uncurled from her ball, only to notice him standing there. Flinching away she rolled back onto the bed, curling back in on herself.

Lena watched as they forced Kara to leave, the video feed going dark as it switched locations. The light turned on, the room coming into focus, causing Lena to gasp, covering her mouth. She took in the room, seeing all the instruments of torture. Kara’s scream caused her to flinch, her eyes tearing up as she watched Kara struggle as she was dragged into the room. Curses flew from her lips, followed closely by pleas. She could see the panic on Kara’s face, Lena’s ear’s picking up Kryptonian words thrown into the frantic pleading.

The Doctor walked in behind her, following them to the center of the room, one of the men carrying Kara let her go, reaching for the chains.

Lena barked out a small laugh, prideful as Kara kicked The Doctor, or in this case, Rowan. Pride gave way to fear as she heard the threat that followed it.

Tears filled Lena’s eyes as she watched Kara be strung up, and exposed, running his hands along her body. The whipping started and Lena couldn’t continue, hearing Kara’s screams.

Lena threw the headphones off, hitting the pause button and slamming the lid down on the laptop. Her chair scraped behind her as she stood, walking towards the windows on the other side of the room, tears now streaming down her face.

Lena flinched at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Alex standing close, her eyes filled with unshed tears. Seeing the strong-willed agent close to breaking herself, Lena gave in, stepping forward. The two women stood near the windows, clutching each other in a hug, somehow trying to comfort each other through the tears.

Several minutes went by, the tears finally slowing, and Lena pulled back, wiping furiously at her face.

“I couldn’t handle hearing her scream. I know it’s the audio we need to hear but, I can’t do it. I love her too much, Alex. I knew it was bad, she’s told me an overview of her time there, but this is horrible. Part of me wants to continue, for her you know? I want her to know, that even after EVERYTHING, I’m still here and that I love her, but, I don’t want to see and feel my heart shatter every time she is hurt.”

Alex turned, looking out the window and wrapping her arms around herself. “I closed my eyes when the video started on mine. If I didn’t see Kara’s face, I thought maybe I could trick myself into thinking it was someone else. Instead, my mind made up its own pictures and they were far worse than what was on that screen. I started repeating a phrase, it got me through the last video. I just kept saying ‘She’s alive. She’s safe. This is in the past.’ It helped, but only just.

“I’m not going to make you watch these videos, I don’t even want to do it. I’m doing it, because no matter what I see, it can’t make me think any less of Kara. Seeing what she’s been through, and this is only the beginning, and seeing her now; it makes me proud of her. She’s crawled through Hell and was tortured by the devil himself, and yet, she looks at you and laughs, her eyes lighting up with life. She tears up at cute animal videos. She is so full of life, even as she fights the shadows of her mind every day. That’s why I’m going to do this. I see who she is now, these videos won’t taint that.”

Lena sniffled, wiping at her face again. Alex was right. These monsters did their best to break her, but Kara lived on.

“You want to protect her, Lena. That’s why you made the belt buckles for her and Clark. Having the ones closest to her, instead of someone else seeing her vulnerable, that’s still protecting her.”

Lena looked up at Alex, feeling a new determination settling into her chest. She took a big breath, holding it for second while she shoved her emotions down, turning towards the computers again.

“You’re right. Mostly, I made Clark a belt buckle, but I made Kara a bracelet instead. It’s much prettier on her.”

Lena stopped as a hand gripped her upper arm. Turning back to Alex, she was confused at the look of shock written on her face.

“You gave Kara a bracelet? And she accepted it?”

Lena nodded slowly, still confused. She didn’t understand what the big deal was.

“Oh, for fucks sake, I know you two have been basically dating since you met, but you couldn’t have waited? I know us lesbians move fast, but goddamn you’ve officially been dating like two weeks. Of course, Kara runs into everything, listening only to her heart, but you Lena. I thought you would slow her down.”

Alex was pacing, throwing her hands around as she talked more to herself than Lena. Lena, who stood rooted to her place following Alex’s frantic muttering, her face morphing into worry and trepidation. She wanted to stop Alex, demand an explanation, but she was scared to get in the way of the ramblings. Deciding to let her continue, Lena leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms as Alex continued on about moving too fast and useless lesbians.

~~

Kara and J’onn landed in the DEO, Kara’s face alight with a smile. It felt good getting out, even if it was just long enough to grab a laptop. Flying always seemed to give her peace of mind. Passing the laptop over to Winn, Kara announced that she was going to find Lena, the appointment with her therapist was in an hour and she wanted to eat before going.

Hearing voices, and not tears, Kara figured it was safe to walk into the training room. What she didn’t expect was Alex pacing in front of Lena, the latter leaned against the wall looking impressed.

Kara walked over to Lena, kissing the side of her head before asking. “Did you break Alex?”

Lena chuckled, her eyebrows raising as she shook her head in disbelief. Alex didn’t stop, never noticing that Kara had joined them. “I think I did. She’s been pacing for about ten minutes now, muttering about something. I thought I’d let her try to work out whatever the issue is, but I’m now worried about the flooring, she may actually wear it down with her pacing.”

Kara stepped forward, coming directly into Alex’s view and stopping her pacing, only to be met with Alex staring at her before launching into a monologue.

“You! How could you accept it? I know you two are in love, it’s been painfully obvious to everyone except yourselves until recently, but come on, Kara. I thought you would’ve waited at least. Actually, I thought you would’ve been the one to do it. But no, I have to hear from Lena about this? I’m your sister! Did you think I wouldn’t support you? I may think you’re moving incredibly fast, but I like Lena. I think she’s a good person, so I support your relationship. Have you even thought about anything else? I mean, you’re still healing, isn’t this a little much to put on yourself? I’m just glad you’re not a guy like Clark. Honestly, I would’ve expected the first thing being that you knocked her up, considering how much you two can’t stop with the PDA. It’s sweet, but I shouldn’t have to see my sister and her girlfriend dry humping in the bunk room. But seriously, Kara-“

“Alex, STOP.” Kara grabbed Alex’s arms, stunning the older woman into silence.

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. You’re rambling like a mad woman to be honest.”

Alex reached down for Kara’s arm lifting her wrist up.

“The bracelet, Kara! Lena gave you a bracelet, with the house crest on it! I mean it’s beautiful, but the timing of the proposal was a little off.”

Kara and Lena both stood still, blinking rapidly as Alex’s rambling finally made sense.

Lena was the first to break the silence, pushing off the wall to stand closer to the two women. “I… I didn’t know? I made it because it fit the look of Supergirl better than a belt buckle.”

Kara stared at the bracelet, eyes wide as she tried to hold on to a single thought.

“I didn’t even think about that. I mean, on some level I think I did, but I was so happy that Lena made it to protect me, that I just shoved all the thoughts away, my next focus was to show her how happy I was. Lena, I know you didn’t mean it that way. I didn’t accept it as a proposal, my idea of one being much more planned out than in the DEO bunk room.”

Lena sighed, a knot of anxiety uncurling from her stomach. Looking up at Kara, she smiled, seeing how open Kara was to her at that moment. “I understand, and that was not my intention either. Knowing that bracelets are your version of rings, I’ll have to alter my proposal dreams now.”

Kara squeaked, turning back to Lena. “You’ve thought about it?”

Lena shrugged, reaching out to run a hand down Kara’s face. “What little girl hasn’t? I’ve fantasized the proposal, the wedding, even the kids and their names. Two kids mind you, a boy and a girl.”

Kara, wide-eyed, turned to look at Alex, only to be met with a similar nonchalant shrug. “I’ve done it too.”

Lena laughed as Kara’s head turned rapidly between the two women, the tension from earlier leaving Alex and Lena’s body.

A few minutes later, Lena pulled Kara towards the door, hungry and wanting to make it to their appointment on time. Realizing Alex was right about one thing, Lena sighed contently as they left. After everything Kara had been through, she was still a ray of sunshine, and Lena was hopelessly done for.

~~

The two women walked into the office, hand in hand, the door to Dr. Blackbourn’s room already opened.

Walking into the room, Kara was met with Dr. Blackbourn standing near the window, a steaming mug of tea clutched in her hands. Turning to the women in the doorway, she smiled, ushering them in and going to sit on the opposite couch.

“Kara! Lena! I’m so glad you guys came back today. Do either of you want tea?” Lena nodded, always up for tea.

“Ok, Kara, I wanted to dive right in if that’s ok. We can just gloss over it all, I just want some idea of what to prepare for. I can’t help when I’m clueless.”

Kara looked to Lena, their eyes meeting as Lena silently encouraged her to open up. Both women were curled up on the large couch, Lena sipping at her tea. Kara reached for a pillow, needing something to mess with as she started, much the same as how she told Lena.

“I was kidnapped, tortured and experimented on…”

~~

Two hours later, and half a box of tissues, Kara and Lena sat on the couch in Dr. Blackbourn’s office, finally spent.

For the most part, Dr. Blackbourn was silent, only cutting in to speak words of encouragement. As she continued talking, Kara had slowly found herself leaning further into Lena, until the woman had given up and turned completely on the couch, wrapping herself around Kara’s back and leaning her chin on Kara’s shoulder. Having the added warmth and the comfort of Lena surrounding her, Kara opened up more, going into detail on some of the experiments and torture.

Lena listened in, her emotions locked away inside a box. Kara needed the support, now wasn’t the time for her to be a wreck. Surprisingly, hearing Kara talk about the experience now, made Lena feel stronger about going through the videos later. Kara was here, working through her demons, Lena could handle watching her get those demons now, seeing how strong Kara was fighting back.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Two weeks had passed, Kara and Lena still staying at the DEO. Rowan had gone dark, falling completely off the grid. Winn had searched every internal inch of the laptop Kara recovered, only to find the video software on it, leaving it a completely dead end.

Clark had to return to Metropolis, only able to take so much time off from being Superman and a reporter. Still, he kept in contact daily, and Kara knew if she needed him, he would be here as fast as he could fly.

Lena spent her time torn between her responsibilities. She still had a company to run so she would work on a secure laptop, paperwork piling up while occasionally doing video meetings for L-Corp and having Jess email her everything. When she wasn’t working on L-Corp, she would be tucked away in a corner watching the videos of Kara, a notebook propped up beside her as she scribbled down possibly important information. She talked it over with Kara and Dr. Blackbourn, finding a way to disconnect from her emotions as she watched the videos. She found a way to turn off everything but the scientist in her. In doing so, when Lena was done for the night, she found her way to Kara, needing the comfort of her girlfriend to bring her back.

Kara on the other hand, was causing problems. The first week, she had become bored and started playing pranks. She would float around the ceiling, nobody thinking to look up. She would drop down at random, stealing a pen from someone or float down, hanging upside down behind an agent and comment on whatever they were working on. It was fun for the first couple days, until it became normal, the scare factor gone. Randomly, Supergirl would show up, laying across the floor, a few agents tripping over her body. After another few days, nobody noticed, stepping over her as they adjusted to her antics.

Kara only left the DEO for her daily trips to the therapist, sometimes with Lena, sometimes escorted by J’onn. Some days, she was only able to be there for a short time, but thirty minutes out of the DEO meant thirty minutes of not going insane with boredom.

Lena this time seemed to be the unlucky target. She sat in the dining room, typing away on the laptop, occasionally reaching for a bite of her salad. She heard the first click but continued what she was doing. Over the past two weeks of living at the DEO, she came to understand that random noises were normal.

The second click had Lena glancing up, looking around the room. Finding the room empty, she went back to her work.  The third click made Lena close the laptop. Hearing a snicker, Lena looked up, finding Kara floating on the ceiling, her phone in her hand.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lena put her hands on her hips, staring at a giggling Kara as she floated down to stand in front of her.

“You look so pretty when you’re focused, I wanted to capture it from different angles.” Turning the phone, Lena stared at herself, her face screwed up in concentration as she typed on the laptop.

“Kara! Honestly, ‘pretty’ isn’t how I would describe myself in that!” Lena gestured towards the phone, looking down at herself now, taking in her entire outfit choices. Being at the DEO all the time, Lena gave up on the CEO uniform she had for herself, donning the dark clothes that fit rather comfortably.

“You are to me! Come on, Lena, let’s do something. I’m bored! Alex can cover for us for a little while. We can stay in the city, use cash for a hotel room under a fake name like we’re undercover spies or something. I just want to get away from here, at least for one night.” Kara had turned to Lena, holding both of Lena’s hands to her chest as she begged.

Lena sighed. With Kara begging and pouting at her, Lena knew she wasn’t getting anything done anyway. Kara would continue to pester Lena until she got her way.

“I’ll ask J’onn.”

 

Turns out, J’onn didn’t need any convincing. Having a bored Supergirl around constantly was almost as bad as having aliens causing a riot in the streets. Sending a team to check out a hotel discreetly, J’onn set up their stay for a week, letting them stay in the penthouse suite, the only one with a balcony. Kara was ecstatic, speeding off to pack her and Lena’s bag. An hour later, Kara walked into the hotel room, Lena following closely behind her as they took in the room.

The room looked like a loft apartment. Dark, cherry wooden floors gleamed in the afternoon light coming through the glass walls. White furniture decorated a sitting area, fluffy rugs spread around casually. Stepping down into the room, Kara turned to the stainless-steel decorated kitchen, speeding to the refrigerator where a note was taped to the door. _“Please, try not to order any room service, Kara.”_ Opening the door, she squealed, seeing pizza boxes and Chinese takeout filling the space. Closing the door, she sped off, looking through the rest of the suite.

Coming to the bedroom, Kara stopped briefly, the canopy bed with black satin sheets causing her to flush. A large fuzzy white rug that matched the living room set covered the floor under the bed, offsetting the dark sheets and floor. Walking into the connected bathroom, Kara almost found herself stripping down and climbing into the tub. It was set in the middle of the room, stone steps leading up to the jacuzzi tub large enough for three people.

Kara turned, hearing Lena enter the bedroom, their bags being placed on the dresser under the television. Kara walked in, wrapping her arms around Lena from behind, her head resting on Lena’s shoulder as she relaxed completely, probably for the first time since this all began.

They stood there in silence, swaying slightly as they just absorbed warmth and comfort from each other. Lena’s eyes slipping closed as she leaned her head back on Kara, her hands rubbing slowly on Kara’s arms wrapped around her middle.

The sound of Kara’s stomach broke their serenity, Lena’s laughter echoing through the suite. Opening her eyes and turning to a red-faced Kara, Lena leaned up, kissing Kara.

“Come on my love. Let’s eat.”

 

Kara and Lena lay tangled up in the living area, full after three whole pizzas, the television turned on to some comedy show, the electric fireplace under it adding another layer of safety to the room. Lena was curled into Kara, the strong arms of her girlfriend surrounding her as they watched the grown men bicker about action figures.

After the first episode, Lena found herself becoming distracted, Kara’s hand sliding from her hip to rest on her thigh. For the first time since they admitted their feelings for each other, they were alone, the threat of Rowan pushed aside for now, and for some reason, it made Lena nervous. She knew Kara was healing, but the idea of being with her, in this safe place, was all she could think about.

Shaking the thought from her head, she tuned back into the TV, trying to follow along. She found the science ridiculous, but considering she understood all the jokes the four boys on the screen cracked at each other, Lena found herself relaxing again.

That is until Kara starting absentmindedly running her thumb across the inside of Lena’s thigh. Lena could feel a blush starting on her face. Deciding to stop Kara for now, Lena reached down, threading their fingers together. Kara leaned down, kissing the top of Lena’s head in response, never noticing the struggle going on in Lena’s mind.

The show ended, and Kara stretched, sounding similar to a baby dinosaur as a few bones cracked. Lena watched Kara, her chest warm with affection as she pulled her arms onto Kara’s chest, her chin resting on her interlocked fingers.

Kara looked down at Lena, seeing bright green eyes staring up at her, a small smile on Lena’s face. A sudden image of Lena, laying on her like this in the bed flashed through Kara’s mind, causing a blush to form.

Raising an eyebrow at the sudden blush, Lena pulled an arm from under her chin, turning her head sideways as she watched Kara’s reactions. Lena slowly ran her hand down to Kara’s hip, pausing as the blush deepened. It seemed being alone together was affecting Kara as much as Lena.

Kara looked down, locking eyes with Lena, seeing the green in her eyes disappearing. Kara knew she wasn’t any better, but her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and Kara leaned her head back, closing her eyes as she swallowed, trying to force down the anxiety she had building in her chest.

Lena looked up, seeing the struggle written on Kara’s face as she ran her hand up and down Kara’s side, her nails lightly scratching on Kara’s still jean covered legs. Seeing her lean her head back, her eyebrows drawing together as she concentrated on something, Lena stopped, dragging herself further up Kara. She was straddling Kara, but they were face to face, a position they were both familiar with.

“Look at me, love.”

Kara opened her eyes, her vision filled with nothing but Lena leaning over her. Leaning down, Lena slotted her lips over Kara’s, finding a rhythm between the two of them. Kara relaxed further, her arms coming to wrap around Lena, pulling her flush against her body. Wanting to feel more in control, Kara used her strength, flipping them on the couch, Lena’s legs wrapping around Kara to keep her stable.

Kara let her weight press Lena into the couch, a delighted hum coming from the woman under her as Kara’s mouth battled Lena’s, nipping slightly at the corner of her lip.

Kara pressed forward, noticing how warm Lena was all over, but especially where they were connected. Kara’s hips slotted against Lena, a small moan coming from the woman. Kara broke then.

Sliding her arms under Lena, Kara stood, carrying Lena to the bedroom where they landed on the bed, bouncing slightly. Content with the extra space, Kara turned to her side, Lena’s legs becoming slack as they lay side by side, exploring each other’s mouth. Kara ran her hands down Lena’s side, ghosting over the small amount of exposed flesh at the end of her shirt. Finding no resistance, Kara’s hand darted under the shirt, her hand exploring Lena’s back, finally touching the pale skin.

Lena let Kara set the pace, hyper-aware of every movement Kara made. Every touch caused her body to tingle, the sensation surprising her. Kara seemed to want to learn everything she could about Lena’s body, content to let her hands explore as their tongues danced around each other.

Kara pulled back, staring at Lena as she slowly opened her eyes again, mouth swollen and red, much like the rest of her body. Pulling herself up, Kara sat on her knees, a troubled look on her face. Lena leaned up on her elbows to watch Kara, both of their chests heaving as they struggled to breathe.

“Can..” Kara started, her eyes flitting around as she tried to focus. Lena leaned forward, clasping her hand into Kara’s.

“If you’re not ready, I won’t be upset. We’re in this together Kara, however long that takes, I’ve got you, and you’ve got me.”

Kara nodded, the words soothing the anxiety that had begun to build.

Kara spoke softly, the blush rising back to her face.  “Can I take off your shirt?”

Lena stopped breathing for a moment. She expected to stop here, but Kara wanted to continue. Nodding, her breath returning to her, Lena leaned back again, Kara coming to rest beside her again.

Lena’s shirt was lifted slowly, Kara’s eyes glued to every inch of skin exposed as the shirt came off. Throwing it to the side, Kara’s hands came to Lena’s sides, running her fingers over Lena’s stomach and watching the muscles tense under her ministrations.

Looking up at Lena, Kara darted down, kissing Lena’s stomach, biting at the soft flesh, soothing the sting with a kiss afterwards.

Lena had died. That was the only explanation for what was happening. Kara was worshiping her stomach, her hands running up and down her sides. Lena could feel her chest heaving as she tried to calm her breathing. After a moment, Kara pulled away and Lena looked down, expecting Kara to be staring up at her. What she didn’t expect was Kara to be staring, her mouth open, at Lena’s breasts. They were still covered, the black lace standing out against Lena’s pale skin. The problem was, with each breath Lena took, her chest rose, and Kara would stop breathing for a second.

Lena felt the hand gripping her side twitch, Kara’s mouth closing as she swallowed. Lena reached down, grabbing Kara’s hand and pulling it up, Kara’s eyes darting to meet hers. Lena kept eye contact, both of their pupils taking over the color in their eyes. Slowly, Lena placed Kara’s hand on her breast, her breath skipping slightly at the touch.

Kara threw her leg over Lena, coming up to straddle her as she explored more, Lena’s head falling back. Not wanting to just lay there, Lena brought her hand up, resting them on Kara’s thighs.

Lena felt Kara tense at the touch. Lifting her head back up, she made eye contact with Kara, squeezing lightly to comfort her. Kara sighed and Lena sat up fully, both woman face to face, Kara sitting on Lena’s lap.

Running her hands slowly up from her thighs past her hips and to her sides, Lena kept eye contact with Kara, leaning forward to kiss her nose as she took a pause, Kara’s eyes closing. Letting Kara adjust to her hands being on her, Lena leaned forward again, kissing the corner of Kara’s mouth, then her jaw.

“You’re beautiful love.” She whispered into Kara’s ear.

She felt Kara shudder, and Lena pulled back searching Kara’s face.

“I’m scared.” Kara’s voice was small, deeper than normal.

Lena’s heart broke. She didn’t want Kara to think this was one sided, and if that meant stopping now, and revisiting this again later, working at it a little at a time, she would.

“I’ve got you, Kara. It’s just me and you.”

Their foreheads rested against each other, the room still charged with their combined energy.

“I’m scared you’ll hate the way I look. My body isn’t perfect like yours.”

Lena almost didn’t hear her, even being pressed up against each other. But she did hear Kara, and her eyes teared up at the broken voice. Gripping Kara’s chin and lifting her face, Lena smashed her lips against Kara’s, pouring her love for the woman into the embrace.

Slowing the kiss back down, Lena pulled away, wiping away a few stray tears from Kara’s face. Kara had leaned back some, her hands twisting in the space between the women.

Taking her hands and pulling them to her mouth, Lena kissed each knuckle, turning the hand to kiss the inside of her each palm before setting the hands onto her shoulders. Lena wrapped her arms around Kara, locking her wrists at Kara’s lower back, pulling her closer.

“Kara, I love you. I fell in love with you, not your body. I learned something a long time ago, something Lex had taught me after our father died. I had tried to commit suicide. I had cut my wrists, Kara.” Lena lifted her arm, showing Kara as very faded white line on the inside of her wrist. “I didn’t want to live in the house with Lillian. Father always was my escape, Lex had already started to pull away, and with him gone, I couldn’t imagine living with her. Lex found me, he stitched me up himself and sat with me that night as I slept. When I woke up the next day, I cried, saying how I failed and now I was going to have a scar to remind me of my failure.”

Lena took a moment, seeing the sadness in Kara’s eyes. Lena continued on, the memory no longer painful after years of therapy. “Lex told me that day, he kissed the side of my head and pulled me into a hug, whispering in my ear. ‘Lena, scars aren’t reminders of our failures. They’re reminders that we survived.’”

Lena leaned forward, kissing the side of Kara’s head. “You survived, Kara. You carry reminders that you are strong, stronger than I ever dared to dream of. I don’t expect you to be perfect, none of us are. I expect you, to be you.”

Kara let the tears fall, kissing Lena sloppily, her hands gripping Lena’s face. Lena grabbed Kara’s wrists, needing something to anchor herself. She could feel her face was wet, but she didn’t know if it was her tears or Kara’s.

“I love you too, zhao.”

Kara felt the love she had for Lena burn through her body, inspiring her to reach down, grasping the hem of her shirt. Anxiety curled in her stomach, causing her to stop again. Lena leaned forward, brushing stray hairs from Kara’s face, running her thumb over Kara’s brow, leaning up and kissing the spot. “Crinkle.”

Kara relaxed, slowly lifting her shirt. Opening her eyes again, once the shirt was discarded, Kara met Lena’s eyes. Lena stared, her eyes searching Kara’s as she ran her fingers over Kara’s face, seeming to memorize every inch she touched. Leaning forward, Lena kissed Kara again, her hand coming to rest behind Kara’s neck, scratching at the small hairs she found.

Leaning back, Lena started slowly, kissing the front Kara’s shoulders, one hand following the same path on the back, her other hand rubbing soothing circles on Kara’s bicep. Reaching her arm, Lena turned back, her lips traveling down further, onto Kara’s chest, skating right over the edge of her still covered breasts. Switching sides, Lena brought her other hand down, feeling Kara tense as her fingertips ran over raised skin on her back.

Leaning back up, Lena kissed Kara deeply, running her hand over the spot again. Kara relaxed and Lena pulled back further.

“I want you to sit up, against the headboard.” Lena instructed. She was going to worship Kara’s body. Lena had her stay sitting up, not wanting to hover over Kara and cause her any extra discomfort.

Shuffling around Lena, Kara crawled to the head of the bed, causing Lena to get her first look at Kara’s back. There were several scars crisscrossing her back, roughly six in total. As Kara, rolled over, leaning back on the mountain of pillows, Lena noticed another set of scars, four of them across Kara’s stomach.

Looking up at Kara, Lena noticed the anxiety evident on her face. Lena leaned forward, crawling up beside Kara as she came in for another kiss, a fingertip running down Kara’s neck and over her cleavage.

Kara shuddered, relaxing back this time, and Lena took this as her cue to continue. Starting back on her path, Lena kissed along Kara’s neck, letting her hair run along Kara’s chest, the edges tickling her slightly.

Making her way down, Lena paused, kissing Kara’s ribs, open mouth kisses that left Kara’s breath to accelerate.  Giving her plenty of time to stop her, Lena worked her way to the first scar, her lips ghosting over it as Kara tensed her stomach muscles. Looking up and making eye contact, Lena leaned down, kissing the scar fully, lifting up slightly before coming back down, kissing every inch of it.

Lena could see Kara’s hand gripping the sheet. Looking back up, she found Kara’s head thrown back, biting on her other hand.

Smirking, Lena ran a tongue across the scar, causing Kara to squeak and flush red, her eyes darting down.

“Don’t bite your hand, love. I want to know when I’m doing good and when I’m not. Let me hear your passion.”

Lena resumed worshiping Kara’s stomach, every minute she spent kissing the raised skin, the more Kara seemed to relax into it, tensing in a new way.

Lena felt a hand skim her side. She was on the last scar on Kara’s stomach, the one closest to her jeans. Looking up, Lena almost lost her goal for the night. Kara had one hand on her on breast, her other hand ghosting over the side of Lena’s.

Raising and eyebrow and kissing Kara’s stomach once again, Lena leaned back onto her knees, reaching behind her.

Kara froze, lifting herself up on her elbows, her eyes glued to Lena. Kara felt her breathing stop, watching Lena, the moment the straps of her bra became loose, Kara knew she was done for. Slowly, teasing her, Lena let the bra drop, exposing her chest to Kara’s eyes. Kara felt the hand she still had on her own bra clench, the sound of ripping startling her. Looking down, Kara and Lena both stared at the hole Kara ripped into the side of her own bra.

Taking a deep breath, Kara sat up, quickly undoing the bra, pulling the straps down slowly.

Lena stayed frozen on her knees, one hand resting on Kara’s hip to steady herself, the other on the bed, fingers flexing slightly.

Kara brought the straps away, the entire bra following next, landing somewhere on the floor. All doubts she had went away, seeing Lena’s face. If it was possible, Kara thought she might self-combust, her entire body tuned into every sensation. Lena crawled forward, the hand on Kara’s hip dragging upwards, running quickly over the side of Kara’s breast before continuing to Kara’s neck. Grabbing tightly, Lena pulled Kara up, their mouth’s connecting again, their now bare chests smashing together. A moan filled the space between them, neither woman knowing which one made the sound.

Kara was the first to pull away, looking up at Lena, searching her eyes and finding nothing but passion and love. Leaning in for a quick kiss, Kara followed Lena’s jawline, nipping at her ear before whispering.

“Make love to me.”

~~

Kara could feel the sunlight. There may not have been a window in the bedroom, but her body always responded to the sun. It made her tingle, her cells preparing themselves to soak up the radiation. On lazy days, she liked to lay around in the sun like a cat, soaking up everything she could. Today though, she had something better. She could feel the warmth of Lena under her, Kara’s half laying across Lena’s back, both of them sleeping on their stomachs.

Nuzzling deeper, Kara took comfort in Lena, the woman reaching around to grab Kara’s hand covering her waist, even in sleep.

Kara lay there, processing the night. She wasn’t innocent, not by any means. In all her trysts with men, or the one time in college with a woman, none of them made her feel like Lena did. Lena took her time, seeming to take her own pleasure in Kara’s. They spent hours learning each other’s bodies, Lena spent much of that time worshipping Kara’s.

Feeling giddy with excitement, Kara pried herself away from the sleeping form of her girlfriend, walking into the kitchen wrapped in a thin robe she pulled from the back of the door. Grabbing several pieces of pizza and eating them cold, she searched the refrigerator. Finding things to actually cook, Kara began making Lena breakfast, the sun fully risen now, giving Kara plenty of light to see with.

 

Twenty minutes later, Lena woke slowly, the smell of coffee pulling her from sleep. She could hear soft music, Kara’s voice wafting through the suite. Smiling at the sound, satisfied already that Kara was happy, Lena stretched before getting up, heading towards the bathroom to get a quick shower.

 

After dressing and pulling her hair into a messy bun, glasses perched on her nose instead of contacts, Lena made her way into the kitchen, stopping to lean against the doorframe as she watched Kara.

Kara was lost in her own world, music playing softly as she danced around the kitchen, singing as she made breakfast. Pausing in her dancing, Kara brought the spatula up, singing into it while holding a pose. Chuckling turned into full laughter as Kara twirled around, hearing Lena in the entryway. Picking her dancing back up, Kara made her way to Lena, pulling her into the kitchen. They both jumped around, Kara singing with the music and Lena laughing.

Stopping as the song ended, the next coming on much slower, Kara turned back to the stove, flipping the pancakes she had on the grill. Lena wrapped her arms around Kara, kissing Kara’s back as she tried to stand on her tiptoes to rest her chin on Kara’s shoulder. Finding herself too short, she huffed, pulling away. Jumping up next to the stove, Lena sat on the counter, her legs swaying in the air.

Feeling a wave of emotion, Lena looked down, her legs stopping as she processed her feelings. Sensing the change in her mood, Kara walked over, stepping between Lena’s legs, her hands resting on Lena’s hips.

“What’s wrong, zhao?”

Lena shook her head, banishing the thoughts swirling around. “Nothing. Just realizing how much I love you and processing it. I didn’t think this level of domesticity was ever an option for me. And yet, here you are, cooking breakfast and dancing and singing like a dork.” Lena leaned forward giving Kara a quick kiss before pushing her back. “And as much as I appreciate you checking in, go back to cooking, Kara. I’d rather my pancakes not be burned.”

~~

Lena and Kara laid across the couch, playing with each other’s fingers, enjoying the silence.

“I don’t ever want to leave.” Kara whispered into the air.

“I don’t either. It’s like we’re in our own bubble here.”

They stayed like that for the next hour, Lena’s body growing heavier as sleep encroached on her mind. Feeling Kara lean forward, kissing her head and wrapping her arms around her, Lena allowed it, relaxing fully into Kara and letting sleep take over.

Feeling like she had just closed her eyes, Lena startled, hearing her phone ring. Realizing Kara was no longer under hear, Lena sat up, listening. She could faintly hear music coming from the bedroom, Kara’s voice echoing as she sang along. Lena hummed, realizing she was in the bathroom, probably taking a shower or bath.

Reaching for her phone on the coffee table, Lena answered it, seeing Jess’ name flash on the screen.

“Ms. Luthor!” Jess didn’t even wait for a greeting, she started straight in on Lena, advising her of a problem at L-Corp. It seemed there was a small explosion in one of the R & D labs, several employees had gotten hurt. The police needed to question Lena about what was being used and why.

Sighing Lena agreed that she would be there shortly. Lifting herself from the couch, Lena walked into the bathroom, finding Kara in the bathtub, bubbles covering everything but her head.

“Lena!” Kara called out, a hand darting out from the bubbles. Lena laughed, taking it before kneeling down next to the tub.

“I’ve got to go to L-Corp. A few employees made a mistake and caused a little explosion, so now I need to go talk to the police.”

“Oh, give me five minutes and I’ll go with you! It’s only two blocks. If I go as Supergirl, we can go in through your balcony and then leave that way! In and out, no problem.”

Lena agreed, standing back up and going to change her clothes, letting Kara finish her bath.

~~

Lena and Supergirl landed on the balcony outside Lena’s office, the police already in the room waiting for her.

“I’ll be quick. I’ll answer the questions, maybe grab a few things after, then we can leave.” Lena spoke softly as she walked in, her CEO mask slipping into place as she greeted the officers.

 

The questioning only took a few minutes, Lena learning that one of the employees tripped, knocking into a beaker that was over an open flame. Lena spent her time explaining how the chemicals used in that project were combustible, much like the fumes from gasoline were. Other than that, Lena explained the safety precautions, everyone concluding that this was just an accident. Since nobody was seriously injured, only a few burns that needed to be treated, the officers parted ways, leaving Lena and Supergirl alone.

Lena walked around to her desk, grabbing a flash drive and a small device, putting the flash drive in her pocket.

Kara looked at what the device was, stumped at its importance.

“It’s a refractor shield. Press this button here and drop it.”

Kara did, watching as a transparent force field grew, taking up enough space that four people could fit behind it. Kara walked around it, running her hand through the front of the shield.

“It doesn’t stop me from moving through it.”

“It’s not made to do that. Toss me that pen on the desk Kara.”

Kara reached over, grabbing the pen before tossing it to Lena, only the pen landed on the floor, nearly four steps away. Leaning down, Lena pressed the button on the box, the shield disappearing.

“It alters the field of view from the outside, kind of like looking into a pool. You think the object in directly below you, only when you reach for it, you find that it’s nowhere near where your eyes see. I figured the DEO could use some of these. Winn would find it fun.” Lena slipped the box into the pocket with the flash drive.

“Ok, I know this wasn’t what we came here to do, but I want to go down to the labs, see how bad the damage is. Five minutes, then we can leave.”

Kara sighed, giving in as they made their way towards the door.

~~

The lab was quiet, everyone leaving after the explosion. Lena looked around, several pieces of equipment were going to have to be replaced. Knowing it could have been much worse, Lena was relieved at how little damage there was. Mostly everything needed to be cleaned now, the foam used to stop a fire covered many of the surfaces. Turning, Lena walked back to the elevators where Kara stood. They both took the elevator back to Lena’s office, chatting about their plans when they returned to the hotel.

Landing on the balcony of the penthouse, Lena walked in first, kicking her shoes off at the doorway, finding the boots she’s worn for the past two weeks much more comfortable.

Kara began stripping as she walked to the bedroom, wanting to get back into her sweats.

Kara heard a thump as something fell in the kitchen, Kara’s hearing easily picking up something off.

Speeding into her clothes, Kara flew into the kitchen, her feet landing as she got closer, no longer able to fly. Ice ran through her veins, her heart racing as she took in the scene.

On the floor of the kitchen was Lena, blood trickling out of a small cut on her head. Standing over her, a gun pointed to her head and a handful of kryptonite, stood Rowan.

“Hello dear, Kara. I’ve missed you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR THAT ENDING.
> 
> This was so difficult to write. I tried several different ways, none of them feeling right. I hope I did it justice....
> 
> I took into account several of your comments and integrated them into this chapter. Many of you have such good ideas and I don't think you know how much I appreciate them!


	8. Rao Watch Over Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys.  
> I'm apologizing for so many things right now.
> 
> FIRSTLY: This chapter is somewhat of a filler, just mostly background information so it's short.... I'm having a HARD time writing these last few chapters, so please be patient. I will get them done, but it may take me a few extra days between them.
> 
> SECONDLY: This is my TRIGGER WARNING. torture. Again. As well as OC death....I'm sorry.
> 
> LASTLY: I'm sorry for what I just wrote :/ remember though, this will have a good ending.

Kara stood still, her fear freezing her in place. Rowan crept closer, the large piece of kryptonite in his hand giving his face a sickening green glow. She could feel the kryptonite, but she didn’t feel any pain, just weaker.

“Interesting. This amount of kryptonite before would have brought you to your knees before. What’s different now?” Rowan stepped around the bar, his gun still pointed at Lena.

Kara found herself taking a step back, keeping the distance between the two of them.

“Tsk tsk. Kara, you know better than to try to get away from me.” Rowan set the Kryptonite down on the bar, reaching for one of the stools. Pulling it out and setting it up in the middle of the floor, he gestured to it with the gun. “Sit down, Kara. I apparently need to go over the rules again. It has been two years, so I’ll give you a little leeway.” Backing away from the stool, Rowan walked back into the kitchen, picking up a bag from the floor.

Kara started towards the chair, reaching for the phone in her sweatpants. She could feel her hands shaking as her hand gripped the phone. Turning around and facing the chair, putting her back to Rowan as she frantically unlocked her phone and pulled up Alex’s contact.

Kara cried out, feeling her head being pulled back by her hair, a foot connecting with the back of her legs, making her fall to her knees, her phone clattering onto the floor beside her. Her hair was released, the hand shoving her forward. Catching herself on her hands, she gasped as the foot came to her back, forcing her to lay on the floor.

“Obviously you need to be reminded of who’s in charge. I was going to have a nice conversation with you, but now we’re doing things the hard way.”

Kara felt her wrists being jerked behind her, the cuffs she became so familiar with clicking into place.

“This is pretty. Did your girlfriend make it for you?” Kara felt the bracelet leave, the pain of the kryptonite in the room suddenly causing her stomach to roll as the pain set in. She could feel the affects already, the veins in her arm tingling as the kryptonite took effect.

“Oh, she definitely made it for you. Interesting piece of jewelry. Too bad you can’t use it to protect yourself now.”

Kara whimpered as Rowan pressed a button, the cuffs clicking together, leaving Kara defenseless.

 

Lena stirred, feeling the beginnings of pain radiating in her head. Groaning, she moved to cradle her head, freezing as she found her arms cuffed behind her back. Leaning up, she looked around, finding Kara laying on the floor as well, looking towards Lena with silent tears streaming down her face.

“I was wondering if you were going to wake up. I was afraid I hit you too hard.”

Lena jerked away, her eyes coming to rest on the man sitting at the bar. He was pulling items out of a bag, laying them out methodically on the bar in front of him. Lena glanced back at Kara, her eyes wide. Kara kept her gaze lowered, not able to bring herself to look around.

“How did you find us?” Lena asked, twisting and pushing herself to a sitting position. If she kept his attention, maybe he would spare Kara more trauma.

Rowan looked down at Lena, meeting her cold stare. Setting down the knife he was inspecting, he stood, making his was to Lena. Crouching down and invading Lena’s space he smiled.

“You’re predictable. You, Lena, are used to nice things. There is no way you would find yourself in a dump hiding away. Kara can’t stop herself from saving people. Naturally, I kept tabs on every hotel with a balcony. Surprisingly there are only forty-seven in the city. In the past two weeks, twenty of them had been reserved, but only two of them for an extended amount of time. It’s quite easy to watch two balconies, waiting for Supergirl to fly away. Imagine my surprise when I was setting up last night and saw you two cuddling together and looking at the city from the balcony. It’s like you were inviting me to join you.

“I knew you wouldn’t leave unless forced to. Surprisingly, it only took one young kid and a threat to his pregnant wife to make it happen. I couldn’t fathom he would cause an explosion, but the distraction was perfect. Hotel rooms aren’t that secure. I bought this handy scrambler from a really nice guy. Just hold it close to the card reader and after a few seconds you’re good to go. I’ve had to get creative in living, ever since my brother was taken from me. My home was a little too far for me to go to every day and still keep an eye on Kara.”

Reaching down and grabbing Lena’s arm, Rowan began to drag Lena across the floor, dropping her next to Kara. Leaning over, he grabbed Kara, forcing her to a sitting position.

“Kara, please instruct Lena on how to address me.”

Kara sat silently, her blue eyes glowing with unshed tears as she made eye contact with Lena. She could feel herself submitting, not wanting to face the pain he could inflict.

Rowan stepped forward, his hand threading into Lena’s hair and jerking her head back.

“Now Kara! Otherwise you’ll see that what I did to poor Sabrina was only the beginning.”

Kara’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes widening as her mind flashed with memories.

“You only speak when spoken to. You will address him as Sir. Do not fight back. Do not look at him unless instructed.”

Rowan laughed, releasing Lena and turning back to the bar.

“Good girl! Now we can have fun!”

~~

Alex sighed as she started the next video, preparing herself for what was to come. She was well into the fourth month, and it hurt her more with each new video as she watched Kara turn in on herself, no longer fighting back. She watched Kara enter the room, immediately stripping down and kneeling submissively near the wall.

Alex sat up, seeing something different this time. A young girl was dragged in, and Kara reacted for the first time, only to be whipped. Kara looked back down as the girl was strung up and the two guys used for muscle left.

Alex was amazed at the girl, she had so much fight as she cursed at Rowan, even after he stripped her of her clothes. Her heart started racing as she listened to what played out in front of her. Kara knew this girl. She knew her as Supergirl. The fact that Rowan was going to force Kara to watch him break this girl down turned Alex’s stomach. She felt the tears silently fall as Kara spoke to her, and she visibly flinched away from the screen as he turned to electrocuting the women.

Seeing Kara go limp, Alex finally caught a breath. If she was unconscious, he would leave her alone, he didn’t get off on an unresponsive body, thankfully. Alex waited, both women on the screen unconscious. Surely they would be taken away. Minutes ticked by and Rowan just sat in a chair, watching. Finally, Kara started to stir, groaning as she rolled over slightly.

Alex felt herself grow cold as Rowan smiled and stood from his place, turning back to his wall of instruments. Reaching for his favorite, the whip, he turned back to Kara, walking slowly to her and letting it drag on the floor, the edges of it trailing into the water around her.

Alex covered her mouth as she watched him lean down, grabbing Kara’s chin and bringing her head up to face him.

“Did you have a nice nap? Good, because now the fun really begins.”

~~

_Kara groaned, feeling her arms burn from being behind her for so long. She noticed she was still in the torture room and she felt her heart speed up. Suddenly a hand gripped her face, turning her to look up, causing the muscles in her neck and upper back to scream at the angle._

_“Did you have a nice nap? Good, because now the fun really begins.” He let her face go and Kara’s body sagged in relief. He grabbed her roughly, dragging her into a sitting position._

_Moving over to Sabrina, he began to caress her face, whispering into her ear. Slowly, Kara began to hear her groan, coming back to consciousness. Kara watched as she fully remembered what was happening, jerking in her chains as she tried to move away from Him._

_“Good. You still have some fire in you. I can’t wait to break you like I did Kara.” He stepped back, his hand swiftly connecting with Sabrina’s face, blood welling up at a fresh cut on her lip. He ran his thumb over the blood, smiling so widely Kara was scared for what he planned._

_He walked behind Sabrina, eyeing her the entire time. Running his hand down her back, he turned to Kara._

_“You will count. If you stop, I start over and double it.” His arm came back before snapping forward, the wet leather tips of the whip cutting into Sabrina’s back, causing her to scream._

_Kara shuddered, looking away. In a soft voice, she whispered: “One.”_

_On and on this continued until he reached ten, stopping to run his hand through his now sweat soaked hair. Walking over to the wall, he put the whip up, reaching for a small knife._

_Kara could feel tears running down her face, the sounds of Sabrina’s whimpering was breaking her further. She watched as He walked over to Sabrina, his eyes gleaming with the look of a predator._

_He reached forward running a hand down Sabrina’s side, coming to rest just below her hip. Taking the other hand, he ran the tip of the knife down her chest, pressing lightly into her diaphragm, the heaving breaths she took causing blood to well up under the tip._

_“I’m going to enjoy this. I need to practice before the grand finale. I don’t want it to be a short experience.” He turned to Kara, his gaze raking over her entire body before doing the same to Sabrina._

_Kara’s heart nearly stopped. He wasn’t going to… He wouldn’t._

_He leaned forward, his face coming to stop a breath away from Sabrina’s shoulder. Bringing himself down, he closely inspected her body, the hand holding the knife was placed firmly on her hip, the other ran over her stomach._

_“Fascinating. Even stretched out as you are, you still control some muscles in your stomach. I love a strong woman.” His voice was deeper than normal, the hand holding the knife coming up to the sports bra._

_“Let’s see what’s under here.” The knife came forward, the edge slipping under the band of the bra._

_“STOP!”_

_Kara looked on, her chest heaving. She wasn’t sure where the voice came from until he turned to her, his face alight with rage. She yelled at him. Kara felt herself sit up some, finding a warmth in herself._

_“Leave. Her. Alone.”  Kara’s voice held strength, something she hadn’t felt for so long._

_The knife flew threw the air, and a scream tore through Kara’s throat as the knife hit home in her shoulder. Storming to the wall, he pressed a button and then pulled down the whip. The door opened, the two men he used for muscle walked in, their faces devoid of emotion._

_“Change them. I want her strung up. Now.”_

_Nodding, the two men split, one pulling the chain holding Sabrina, lowering her to the floor. The other came to Kara, pausing only briefly at the sight of the knife embedded in her shoulder. He turned back to The Doctor, and receiving a nod, pulled the knife free, eliciting another yelp from Kara._

_The knife clattered to the floor across the room, and Kara felt herself become free of her chains for a moment, her arms burning as they regained feeling. The man picked her up easily, crossing to the center of the room in a few steps, passing the other man dragging a half-conscious Sabrina to the wall Kara just vacated._

_Kara found herself struggling, the wound in her shoulder screaming in protest. Unbothered by her, the man dropped her in the center of the room, easily grabbing her wrist and connecting her cuffs above her head, Kara groaning as the movement caused more pain to her shoulder._

_The chains pulled taunt and Kara found herself struggling to breathe. Every muscle in her body protested, the hole in her shoulder throbbed as it was pulled by her arms above her head, the men leaving them to their torture._

_The Doctor stepped forward, his face nearly purple with rage. He didn’t even voice his rage as he lashed out, the first strike cutting across Kara’s abdomen, blood welling up at the cut._

_Kara couldn’t hold back her screams as he continued, losing count of how many hits she took as he circled her body. Finally, the pain stopped, and she could hear him behind her gasping for breath with exhaustion. Kara felt her entire body trembling, the chains rattling above her. She felt herself come back into her body, feeling the blood running down herself, Sabrina sobbing to her right._

_“You…Do not…Defy me.” Kara gasped as she felt the whip again, not nearly as hard as before, exhaustion causing him to lose strength and anger._

_Kara stayed silent. She would continue to defy him so long as it kept Sabrina safe. Kara looked to her right, their eyes connecting. Forming a weak smile, Kara mouthed to Sabrina. ‘Stay Strong’. Both girls nodded at each other, Sabrina’s sobs turning silent, the tears continuing down both women’s faces._

_Sensing the strength between the two women, The Doctor backed away, returning to press the button on the wall. Both men returned, coming to stand side by side just inside the door._

_Pointing at Sabrina, The Doctor gave them their orders. “Beat her.”_

_The men nodded, turning to Sabrina. The Doctor walked back to his chair, reaching for a water bottle he had placed beside it, unscrewing the cap as he sat to watch._

_Sabrina’s cries filled the room, mixing with Kara’s curses. Kara could feel herself slipping into a dark place in her mind, her curses turning to threats, most of them in Kryptonese._

_Snapping his fingers, the men stopped, backing away from the woman curled up on the floor. The Doctor stood, walking back to the center of the room, eyeing Kara._

_Kara felt the rage across her body, the adrenaline causing the pain to disappear._

_Staring directly at the doctor, Kara found her voice, though not one she recognized. “ **rr aop nim dhehriv**_”

_Laughing, The Doctor waved away Kara’s threat. “Look at you, broken down to not even being able to speak English anymore.”_

_Kara kicked out, her foot connecting with The Doctor’s knee, causing him to drop. He looked up with rage at Kara as she spoke again. “You. Will. Die.”_

_The Doctor rose, their eyes locking in a battle of wills. Turning away from Kara after a minute, The Doctor walked over the wall, grabbing the one thing Kara didn’t think he’d use._

_A string of curses left Kara’s lips as he walked over to Sabrina, kicking her just enough for her to roll to her back, not conscious enough to even open her eyes._

_Lifting his hand, Kara felt herself break as she yelled out again, pleading this time._

_He turned to Kara, lifting his eyebrows in question. “It seems you can’t behave with others, Kara. Your defiance caused this.”_

_Kara felt herself scream as a shot rang out and Sabrina’s whimpering cut off, the room silent now except for Kara’s sobbing._

_The Doctor looked over, pleased at Kara’s sobbing. Nodding for the men to take her, The Doctor left, the gun lowered to his side as he walked out the door._

_~~_

Alex felt herself sobbing as the men took her sister back to her cell. The fire she had protecting Sabrina gone completely from her body. In all the things Kara had told her, she had never mentioned this girl. Alex knows why. She feels guilty, like Sabrina was dead because of her.

Alex wiped at her eyes as Kara was thrown into her cell. She lay there on the floor another thirty minutes sobbing. Watching Kara drag herself to her knees, her sobs turning to hiccups, Alex felt her heart break as she heard Kara start speaking, her voice broken and hoarse from crying. Kara spoke in Kryptonese, but Alex knew the prayer. Feeling the emotions breaking free, Alex spoke the prayer along with Kara, only in English.

“Though we go forth alone, our soul unites us under Rao's gladsome rays.

  We're never lost, never afraid for we shrink not under the Sun of Righteousness.

  Rao binds us to those we love.

  He gives us strength when we have none.

  And in the darkest places, he guides us.

  For Rao sees all, feels all.

  His love eternal.

  Rao, protect us, so that we might protect others.

  And we shall rise, a fire in His heart, burning and free.

  From Rao's fire you are born.

  One day soon you will reign.

  You have been the sun of our lives.   Our prayers will be the sun that lights your way on your journey home.   We will remember you in every dawn and await the night we join you in the sky.   Rao's will be done.”

Turning the video off and closing the lid, Alex walked out of the room, making a quick stop in the bathroom to empty her stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I will get back to Kara and Lena next chapter. I know what I want to have happen, I have it written out in a rough outline, I'm just finding the words to finish it all up. At this moment, my thoughts have been written down and look like a mix of broken English and stage direction X.X
> 
>  
> 
> THANK YOU all for the comments. Every one has been helpful either in ideas, or just giving the motivation to keep going.


	9. The Devil Won't Win

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS. I DID IT.  
> OK SO. I feel like I didn't do this chapter justice, and yet I feel like I couldn't do anything else with it.... but I'm kind of proud of making it as far as I did.
> 
>  
> 
> SO CHAPTER WARNINGS.  
> 1\. VIOLENCE.(some good some bad...i'm sorry?)  
> 2\. Language... not really concerned about it, that's part of why the rating is what it is  
> 3\. FLUFF. (not really a warning, just a surprise!)  
> 4....I'm still sorry for any mistakes made, and for hurting these two.

Rowan stood at the bar, looking over his selected instruments. Various forms of knives, his favorite whip, a handheld taser, and a gun lay spread out, each one ready to be used. He surveyed each one, deciding which he wanted to start with.

Lena was watching Rowan out of the corner of her eye, her focus mostly on Kara, who knelt in front of her submissively. “Kara, look at me.” Lena whispered, hoping Kara hadn’t receded too far into her own mind. Kara looked up slightly, her normally bright blue eyes were dull; haunted.

“We will get out of here. Trust me.” Lena tried to convey confidence in every whispered word, never breaking eye contact with Kara. Seeing Kara nod slightly Lena focuses her attention back to Rowan, seeing him move towards her.

What she didn’t expect was his hand to come across her face, the backhand stinging as she felt her lip split, the blood leaving a copper taste in her mouth. Lena turned her face back to Rowan, anger flashing in her bright green eyes.

Rowans jaw tensed. “It seems I need to enforce the punishment for breaking the rules early.”

 Reaching forward, he grabs Lena, dragging her into the living room. He drops her in front of the coffee table, one hand on her back, pushing her face first onto it. He runs his other hand down her arm slowly, stopping at the cuffs. Lena felt him moving her wrists, the clicking of metal causing her to focus on every movement. She felt him straddle her, his knees on both sides of her legs, the warmth of his body was hovering just over her back. The first click of her cuff made her hyperaware of what was happening, the metal releasing from around her wrist. He kept an iron grip on the wrist, bringing her arms forward under the table.

Lena knew this was her only chance. If he cuffed her again under the table, she knew what was going to happen. She started pulling her arms, not allowing him to bring them close enough to connect the cuffs again. Taking a moment to prepare herself for the pain, Lena tensed up her neck and took a deep breath. Throwing her head back, she felt a flash of pain and heard a crack before the adrenaline kicked in, Rowan yelling as he released her to hold his face.

Turning slightly, Lena threw her elbow back, catching Rowan on the side of his head, knocking him off her back. She jumped away, using every second to get to the bar where she knew the gun was. Her heart jumped as she heard him yell in rage, a hand grabbing her ankle, causing her to fall forward.

Lena rolled over, scrambling backwards as Rowan towered over her, his face nearly purple with rage, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. He stalked forward and Lena continued to crawl backwards, trying to get more distance between them.

With a flash of blonde hair, Rowan was thrown sideways, Kara’s body slamming into him.

“RUN LENA!”

Lena didn’t need to be told twice. Scrambling back to her feet, she ran for the bar, finding the gun immediately. The sounds of struggling reached her ears. Cocking the gun, she turned and raised it, freezing at the sight before her.

Rowan held Kara close, both of them struggling to catch their breath. “Drop the gun, or you’re going to watch me jump straight to the ending and I finally get to feel what’s hidden under these clothes. Don’t even think about shooting through her either. Those are kryptonite bullets. They work well for Kara, and work just the same as normal bullets for humans.”

Lena feels Kara’s gaze, begging her to take the shot. She takes a few seconds, one of Rowans hands sliding down to the edge of Kara’s shirt. Sighing, Lena begins to lower the gun, uncocking it.

“Lena, No!”

Lena looks up, her face grief stricken. “I can’t hurt you, Kara. Even if you would’ve healed faster, I can’t be the cause of you in pain.”

“You stupid bitch.”

Lena eyes grow wide as Rowan tenses up, Kara’s weight being thrown forward. Lena drops the gun, reaching out to catch Kara, both of them dropping to the floor. Lena brings herself up to her knees, leaning forward to pull Kara up, only to be pulled backwards by her hair, a yell of pain ripped from her throat. She lands on her side, pain flaring from her hip as she hits something hard in her pocket.

Rowan stalks in front of her as she struggles, scrambling backwards. The wall of windows making it difficult to see his face. “You’re becoming a problem, Lena. I can’t have you ruining my plans!” Lena freezes as he raises the gun to her, Kara struggling to get up from her side with her hands behind her back.

Rowan moves forward some, cocking the gun and aiming. Reaching into her pocket, Lena feels for the force field generator. Her fingers wrap around it, pressing the button and throwing it between them. Rowan pauses, stepping forward slowly. Lena lifts herself up, muscles tensing. This would only buy her a few seconds. Rowan runs his hand through the forcefield, laughing as his hand passes through.

“It seems you’re not that smart.”

Lifting the gun, he shoots, the wood next to Lena splintering as the bullet hits it. Lena takes off, running for the bar. The sound of Rowan yelling reaches her ears, followed by the deafening sounds of multiple shots. Reaching the bar, Lena reaches for the closest knife.

Her hands close around the blade, only to be met with searing pain as a bullet lands in her left shoulder. The force of the bullet causes Lena to falter, a cry of pain escaping her. She hears a couple more shots, one of them hitting the bar next to her, before the sound of clicking fills the hotel room. Lena breaths for a moment, leaning on the bar.

Rowan, now left without a weapon, steps on the forcefield generator, breaking the little black box. He tosses the gun to the side, useless, and rushes forward, grabbing Lena by the throat and spinning her.

Lena feels his hands at her throat, the shock causing her to stumble. He presses her into the bar, tightening his hold.

The pain from her shoulder, and lack of oxygen causes Lena’s head to spin. She goes to grab at his hands, the pain in her shoulder leaving her left arm useless. Lifting her right, Lena feels the weight of the knife. She struggles to breathe, her mind clearing with the realization of the weapon she holds. Lena draws back, the knife in her right hand gripped tightly as she thrusts forward, sinking it into Rowans stomach.

Rowan releases her with a cry, and Lena gasps as air floods her lungs again, Rowan stumbling backwards towards the living room and onto the floor.

Lena looks at the man laying on the floor, blood beginning to pool under him. She could feel her emotions flashing through her, too many to be able to understand what just happened. Seeing Kara move out of the corner of her eye, Lena came back to the present, turning to find Kara’s bracelet in the kitchen.

Drawing her left arm up, Lena cradled it to her body as she found the bracelet and made her way to Kara. Grunting as she falls to her knees behind Kara, she clasps the bracelet on Kara’s arm above the cuffs, the bracelet instantly glowing.

Kara gasps as she feels her strength beginning to return, her mind clearing.

“Lena, press the button. It’ll release the cuffs. If I can just use my arms, we can worry about getting them off later.”

Kara could feel Lena tugging at the cuffs, struggling to find the button. Hearing a groan, Kara and Lena both raise their heads, seeing Rowan shifting on the floor.

Lena felt a rush of relief mixed with fear. _She didn’t kill him_. She didn’t kill him, and now he was still a threat. Lena felt her heart race, rushing now to find the release.

Kara watched as Rowan turned over, the knife embedded in his stomach. He pulled himself up with the couch, and looked at Kara, a grin on his face. Gripping the knife, he pulled, grunting as it came free. Rowan threw it to the floor, his hand going back to put pressure on the wound. Standing on his own, he started forward, intending to finish everything.

“Lee, hurry!” Kara was worried, he looked too calm.

A yell of triumph echoed in the room and Kara felt her arms break apart, blood flowing easily again. Surging forward, finding the beginnings of her strength again, she lashed out, punching Rowan across the face and sending him to the floor with a thud. Reaching down, Kara grabbed his shirt and lifted him up, throwing his semi-conscious body into the living room and onto the coffee table.

“Kara…”

Kara turned, no longer concerned with the unconscious man. She rushed forward, catching Lena as she fell sideways and pressed her hand to her shoulder, causing the woman to groan.

“I know, but we got to try to slow down the bleeding, Lee.”

Lena’s eyes met Kara’s, finding them glowing with unshed tears. Reaching up, she cradled Kara’s face.

“I told you I’d protect you.”

Kara laughed as she turned her head, kissing Lena’s palm. Kara started to lower Lena, getting her to put pressure on her shoulder with her own hand.

“I’m going to call the DEO. You need medical-“ Kara was cut off by the sound of crashing.  Automatically she wrapped her body around Lena, prepared to fight.

“KARA! LENA!”

Kara and Lena both felt the fight leave their bodies, Kara dropping to her knees next to Lena and cradling her body.

Alex stormed in, her gun raised. She took in the sight in front of her. Blood was covering most of the floor between the living room and kitchen. Collapsed in a mess of broken glass in the living room was an unconscious Rowan. Alex moved forward, past Rowan as she finally caught sight of Lena and Kara on the floor. Rushing forward and holstering her gun, she dropped to her knees in front of them, checking over Lena.

Seeing the pale woman look more like a ghost than normal, Alex called for medical, reaching forward to press on Lena’s shoulder. “Jesus, Lena. You two are going to cause me to go grey haired. Thank God someone heard the shooting and called 911. Once the call went out over the radio, Winn heard the address. You can thank Winn for always monitoring the NCPD.”

Lena nodded, thinking of a few things in their labs that she could give him as a thank you gift. Sighing, she felt the adrenaline leave her body as Alex and Kara continued to talk over her. Taking safety in the woman in front and behind her, Lena felt her vision go dark as the fight left her completely.

~~

Lena woke to the sounds of beeping. Groaning she opened her eyes, her hand moving to block out the light, only to find out that she couldn’t. Lena’s eyes flew open, her heart thudding in her ears. Looking around, she relaxed back, the familiar dark grey of the DEO medical bay calming her.

Leaning fully back into the bed, she looked down at her body, her arm strapped to her chest with a sling. She felt a warmth on her right side, almost like a small heater. Turning, she spotted Kara asleep on the bed near her, her arm outstretched to Lena’s bed, her hand resting on the bed next to Lena’s. Kara was snoring lightly, the brightness of the sunlamps not bothering her at all.

Lena reached forward, threading her hand with Kara’s.

Kara’s eyes flew open, immediately connecting with Lena.

“You’re awake!” Kara scrambled from her bed, nearly crawling into bed with Lena before stopping. Kara dropped herself into the chair next to Lena’s bed, just squeezing her hand in comfort.

Lena wanted none of it. “Get up here.” She pulled at Kara’s hand, a smile on both their faces as Kara crawled into the bed, mindful of Lena’s shoulder.

Kara felt Lena relax and sigh, snuggling into Kara’s body. They lay in silence, taking comfort in each other.

Lena was the first to break the silence, her voice deeper as she fought sleep. “Kara?”

Kara hummed, fighting sleep herself.

“Promise me we can go home after we sleep some more.”

Kara felt her heart break at how small Lena sounded. Leaning back, she found herself cradling Lena’s face, wiping away a stray tear with her thumb.

“Rraop nahn zehdn khuhtiv zhao. Home for me is wherever you are. We’re safe now.”

Leaning forward, Kara kissed Lena’s forehead, pulling her back into the embrace.

“I love you.”

Kara smiled, tightening her arms slightly. “I love you too.”

Lena felt herself slip back into sleep, the warmth of Kara surrounding her.  Two hours later, Alex walked in, finding them still in the same position. She backed out the medical bay. The debrief could wait a little while longer.

~~

_ One week later _

Lena heard the sound of her alarm go off. Groaning, she lifted herself up, noticing that she was alone in the bed. The wound in her shoulder still healing meant she couldn’t just throw her arm back and hit the alarm clock anymore. Lena stretched as she stood, feeling her bones pop and settle. Moving towards the bathroom, Lena heard the sounds of music coming from the kitchen. Lena smiled as she started for the shower, getting herself ready for the day.

Kara found herself awake as soon as the sun started to come up, the plan for the day leaving her unable to relax. Not wanting to wake Lena, she crawled out of bed and went into the living room, planning to soak up the early morning sun.  She reached for the tablet on the counter top, pressing a few buttons to have the blinds pull away from the windows. She agreed to move into Lena’s apartment, taking comfort at how secure it was. Knowing nobody could see in the windows, Kara found herself sitting cross legged on the floor near the windows, her eyes closing as she started floating, her mind pulling into meditation mode.

Once the sun started rising further, Kara pulled out of the meditation, her feet finding the floor. Walking back to the kitchen, she tapped the screen a few more times until music started flowing from the speakers hidden around the kitchen and living room. Finding her inner peace, Kara started dancing around the kitchen with the music as she prepared breakfast, turning the music up more once she heard Lena’s alarm go off.

Kara was flipping the last pancake onto a plate as she felt Lena lean into her back, her one good arm resting on Kara’s hip. She felt Lena lean forward, kissing her back.

“Good morning.”

Kara turned, taking Lena into her arms and kissing her fully.

“Good morning to you too.”

They smiled at each other, Lena breaking the eye contact as she took in the stacks of pancakes, bacon and eggs next to their stove. She looked back up at Kara and raised her eyebrow, questioning.

Kara shrugged and grinned, turning to grab two of the plates and go to the island, setting everything up for them to eat. “I’m hungry, and with today being the day we go to Dr. Blackbourn for half the day, I need to keep my calorie count up.”

Lena paused as she pulled the barstool out. She had almost forgotten about today. They had called Dr. Blackbourn when they got home and briefly explained what happened. She proceeded to clear her schedule for this day, telling both Kara and Lena that she wanted them in for a session. However long it took.

Lena and Kara ate in silence, the weight of the day causing Lena to mostly pick at her food. She smiled as she watched Kara eat, nothing stopped her down from eating. After breakfast, they did the dishes together, Lena putting things back since she still only had the one good arm.

~~

They arrived at Dr. Blackbourn’s office fifteen minutes early, Kara not seeming too bothered at the prospect of the day. Lena on the other hand, felt her stomach nearly vibrate with anxiety. She didn’t do good talking about her feelings, no matter who she was with.

The elevators opened, and Kara and Lena were met with the smell of coffee. Noticing the lack of a receptionist, Lena felt herself relax into the smell some. Walking down the hall, they came to find Dr. Blackbourn in the little kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee. She turned, smiling at the two women standing in the waiting area, Lena’s hand noticeably clutching at Kara’s.

“Do either of you want some coffee?” At both women’s nods, Dr. Blackbourn pulled down two extra mugs, pouring coffee into both before setting them on the bar separating the kitchen and waiting area.

Lena found herself relaxing more as she went through the task of fixing her coffee how she liked it, noticing Dr. Blackbourn raise her eyebrows at the sheer amount of sugar Kara put in hers. They made their way to the office, Kara flopping onto the couch.

Lena lowered herself slower, having her only good hand holding the coffee.

“So, Lena.” Dr. Blackbourn started in, causing Lena to freeze as she took a sip of her drink. “How much longer until you get to use your arm again? I feel like you’re ready to rip the sling off now and just say screw it.”

Lena found herself laughing. “I have about another week in the sling, the week after that I should be able to get the stitches out. You’re right though, it’s a pain in the ass. I can’t get anything done at work because it takes me twice as long to type now.”

“So you’re already back at work?”

Lena nodded, setting her coffee down on the table next to her. She pulled her legs up, getting comfortable on the couch. Kara, now comfortable with the doctor and being in the room, lays her head in Lena’s lap. Lena’s hand immediately goes to Kara’s hair, grateful for Kara giving her something to do that comforts them both.

“I’ve been away for a few weeks now, I had to go back, or I was going to risk losing everything. I’ve worked too hard to build L-Corp back up, for one sick man to take it from me.”

Dr. Blackbourn nodded, sipping at her coffee before turning to Kara.

“What about you? I haven’t seen Supergirl in the headlines lately.” Kara hummed as Lena’s nails scratched her scalp.

“I’ve been keeping myself busy. I moved into Lena’s apartment. I’ve been redecorating and making it feel like an actual home. I find it fun.”

“It’s not too soon for either of you?”

Lena shook her head. “No, not after everything that’s happened. It was a shock the first time I came home. Kara had stuff everywhere. I freaked out a little. My black, grey and white apartment was covered with plants and blankets and rugs; none of it matching.  It took us a few days of give and take before it came together. Now Kara finds herself moving things around and building the storage shelves I never got around to.”

“Do you find yourselves leaning on each other instead of others?”

Kara chuckled a little. “We lean on each other, especially during the night when one of us has a nightmare. But as far as other’s go. Alex and Maggie keep coming over for game night twice a week, and Jess keeps Lena from disappearing into her work. She actually locked Lena out of the L-Corp servers the other night. She noticed Lena logged on remotely from home and kicked her out.”

Lena laughed, remembering how she yelled at her assistant that night, only to be met with a stubborn woman that hung up on her. “I didn’t even know she had that capability. Honestly at this point, I’m thinking I need to find a new assistant and promote Jess.”

Dr. Blackbourn looked at the two women. They had a good support system, both with each other and with family. Somehow, with the trauma of what they’ve went through, it’s brought the two women closer together. She knew they would still have to work through what happened, both the first time Kara was captured, and this last encounter. But the two women sitting in front of her were strong. They survived together, and nothing was going to break them apart now.

~~

_ One Year Later _

Lena pulled back from the microscope she was looking into, turning to face Alex behind her. The women were working on modifying alien technology into helpful weapons for the DEO.

“Alex, I wanted to ask you something.”

Alex looked up from her task, meeting the nervous look of the CEO.

“What’s up?”

Lena looked around, trying to focus on something so she could find her strength. She looked up suddenly at the touch of a hand on hers, meeting Alex’s eyes across the table.

Sighing, Lena pushed forward, throwing it out there. “I want to propose to Kara.”

Alex sat in silence, her eyes wide. “You... Kara... When?”

Lena looked up at Alex, trying to understand what Alex was trying to ask. “Look, I know, it’s a lot to take in, what with my family being who they are, but she’s my rock. I wanted to get your blessing, maybe your input as well? I have an idea of wanting to make her a bracelet and a ring, combining both our cultures. I wanted to do it soon too, but I really needed to run this by you first, Alex.”

Alex found herself smiling as Lena rambled on. Jumping up and sliding over the table, she pulled Lena into a hug. “I approve, so very much, you know that! I also appreciate you wanting my input, and honestly, I have the perfect idea!” Alex released Lena, rushing to the evidence room, leaving Lena standing in the lab confused. A couple minutes later, Alex burst into the room with a small device in her hand, a giant grin on her face.

~~

A few days later, Lena found herself cooking dinner, soft music playing in the background. The apartment was covered in candles, a mound of blankets and pillows piled on the floor in the living room, a familiar metal egg sitting on the coffee table. Lena was just putting the finishing touches on the food when she heard the distinct beeping of Kara bypassing the security system. She heard the door open and she turned, smiling as she took in Kara’s stunned face.

Kara stared around the room, the set up bringing up so many memories. She pushed the door shut behind her, throwing her bag and kicking off her shoes somewhere near their place as she walked to Lena in the kitchen, her eyes roaming over the jeans and button down black shirt. She loved seeing Lena in her weekend clothes.

Wrapping her arms around Lena, Kara leaned down, kissing her girlfriend.

“This is amazing, but, what’s the occasion?”

Lena shrugged, turning back to the stove to make their plates. “We haven’t had a proper date night in a while, work and supergirl duties always keeping us busy. So, I talked to Alex, and you have the night off. It’s just you and me tonight.” Lena set the plates down on the island where she had everything else set up.

They ate and talked about their days, Lena never losing focus of the weight she felt in her pocket. Dinner passed nicely, Lena losing the battle to Kara’s superspeed with the dishes. It was a common theme, Kara using her speed to do something before Lena could even think about getting up. She feigned annoyance, but it made her heart swell each time.

Lena took Kara’s hand as they made their way to the living room, stopping just outside the nest. Lena reached down and grabbed the metal projector, handing it to Kara. She may be learning how to speak Kryptonian, but this only responded to Kara’s voice.

Almost immediately, the solar system of Kara’s childhood filled the room, and Kara kneeled down, taking it all in. “It’s so beautiful. I’m so glad this survived, it gives me such happy memories. Under these stars, is where we first kissed. Where we fully explored our feelings for each other.”

Lena found herself kneeling next to Kara, her hand gripping the ring in her pocket. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, and she prayed that Kara wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m hoping I can add to those memories.” Lena whispers, pulling the ring from her pocket. Kara turns to her with a smile. Her eyes go wide, and her jaw drops as she sees the ring in Lena’s hand. She looks up and stares at Lena. “Marry me?”

Kara could feel her heart racing, shocked at what was happening. She looked back up at Lena, and seeing the anxiety on her face, launches herself forward, using her powers to stop them from slamming into the floor.

She feels Lena laughing, and she realizes she’s speaking, just repeating the same word over and over again. Pulling back, she feels tears fall from her eyes as she looks at Lena. Taking a breath, she nods. “Yes, Lena. I will marry you.” She cradles Lena’s face, pulling her in for a kiss.

Lena’s the first to pull back, not finished with what she has to show Kara.

“There’s something special about this ring.” Lena says, lifting it between their faces. She slowly brings up her other hand and presses down on the small diamond set in the middle. She turns the ring until it clicks then lifts her hand, the ring glowing lightly. Lowering it into her open palm, she watches Kara’s face as the ring expands, the diamond becoming flush and streaks of blue emerging from the band. Over the course of a couple seconds, Lena holds a bracelet in her hand, the band glowing with lightning bolts of blue-k.

Kara felt the tears fall from her face. She didn’t know what to say. She looked up at Lena, tears falling freely now. She leaned forward again, pulling Lena into a kiss that made her warm, her blood moving to places that caused her mind to go fuzzy.

Pulling back, Kara said the only thing she could think of. Lifting her left arm, she looked at Lena with love. “Put it on me?”

Lena nodded, tears flowing down her face as well. She wrapped the bracelet around Kara’s wrist, clasping it together. Once the clasp connected, Lena threaded her hand with Kara’s, looking up to hold Kara’s gaze. She found herself with her arms full of a Kryptonian, her body arching into Kara’s with the power of their kisses.

Kara pulled back again, Lena head falling back as she took a moment to catch her breath. She suddenly felt Kara’s body trembling on top of her. Concerned she looked down to find Kara silently laughing.

“Kara?”

Kara looked up, the laughs tapering down. “Nothing. It’s just…. Hang on I’ll show you.”

Kara jumped up, speeding off to their bedroom. Lena pushed herself up to a sitting position, confused at the sudden change of events. Her body was screaming with arousal, but now she wondered what was so important for Kara to stop.

A minute later, Kara returned, holding something behind her back. She sat in front of Lena, her legs straight as she scooted as close as possible, Lena now sitting in the space between her legs.

“I wanted to surprise you next week at the gala you had. I was going to pull you away and bring you to your office. Jess was even going to help me. She was supposed to put out the candles and string lights and put on some soft music. I was going to be romantic about it. It’s the first place we met, the first moment where I questioned who I was, where I kept denying how I felt about you. You were so beautiful that day and I was stunned. I couldn’t believe I was in the presence of such a beautiful and powerful woman. I may have been Supergirl, but you could’ve asked me to jump off that balcony and I would have.” Kara looked down for a moment, taking a breath.

Lena could feel her heart racing as she listened to Kara.

Taking another deep breath, Kara pulled her arm out from behind her, holding a ring out to Lena. “I know I said I would marry you, Lena, but I need to know. Will you marry me?”

Lena felt the tears start again, her body tingling with excitement and nervousness. Looking up to Kara’s bright blue eyes, Lena found herself not able to speak, so she just nodded. She kept nodding until a small broken voice pierced the silence.

“Yes.”

That was all Kara needed. She lifted Lena’s hand, sliding the ring into place. Lena found herself leaning forward, grabbing Kara’s face and bringing it to her. Slotting their lips together, Lena crawled onto Kara’s lap, her love pouring into each kiss between the two of them.

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena, lifting her up just enough to turn them, laying Lena on the floor underneath her.

Lena felt herself give in to Kara their hearts beating in sync and their fingers threading together as they explored each other’s bodies, making new memories under the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO THERE YA GO. The happy ending they deserve...  
> I WILL POST ANOTHER CHAPTER OF PURE FLUFF AND DOMESTIC SUPERCORP. It'll be an epilogue of a few years down the road. honestly so much fluff in that, small VERY brief angst...
> 
> I wanted to thank all of you that have read this as I posted. I've tried to keep the chapters coming. This next one should be out shortly, it being easier to write with it's lighthearted nature. I actually wrote half of it while I was avoiding writing this chapter. 
> 
> Thank you for all the love and comments guys. I appreciate them so much.


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The last chapter. PURE DOMESTIC SUPERCORP. No Angst...ok maybe a flash of it...just a slight moment, but nothing to worry about.

THREE YEARS LATER

“Kara, love?” Kara looks up to see her very pregnant wife standing at the entrance to the kitchen, an odd look on her face.

_Kara and Lena asked the Alura hologram a few months after they were married about having children. She informed them that Kryptonians in same sex relationships, with a small medical procedure, were able to impregnate their partner. Kara and Lena proceeded to learn as much as possible about the procedure and how it would affect the women, taking nearly two years before deciding it was safe for Lena. Four months later, Lena was pregnant and to everyone’s surprise, with twins._

“What’s wrong, are they ok?” Kara moves the pan off the stove top, and turns it off before rushing to Lena, her hand coming to cradle Lena’s stomach.

“I don’t want you to panic, but it seems my water broke?” Lena says, a question in her voice.

“Oh.” Kara looks down at Lena’s stomach then back to her face. “Are you in pain?”

Lena shakes her head, one hand rising to her stomach. “Not yet, just the mild contractions I’ve felt all night. Either way, you may want to call Alex and Eliza?”

They had decided to do a home birth, neither women being comfortable in the hospital. Kara still had too many bad memories with medical equipment, Lena didn’t like anyone seeing her lose control and at home she felt like she could be relaxed and control her labor. They both decided Alex and Eliza would help, both having medical degrees.

“Yeah, I’ll do that.” Kara had to force herself to breathe. She looked up at Lena, seeing the mild panic in her eyes. Kara felt a kick against her hand and a smile automatically formed. She leaned forward, kissing Lena lightly. “We’re going to be parents.”

~~

Lena didn’t know what to do. She didn’t like being forced to wait, and her children seemed to want to draw out their arrival.

It was late into the night and the contractions were coming strong and fast, and yet she wasn’t quite ready to push. She was in their bedroom, kneeling next to the bed and swaying, her forehead resting on the edge of the bed. Kara kneeled behind her, rubbing her back through each contraction, the entire apartment silent except for the light background music and Lena’s soft groans.

Alex and Eliza sat nearby, waiting, watching the two women who were in their own world. The sound of Lena sighing signaled the end of the contraction, Alex resetting the timer on her phone and writing the times down in a nearby book. She could just barely hear whispering between the two, Lena nodding to whatever Kara asked her. Kara stood, her hands coming to pull Lena up from the floor.

Lena turned, her arms resting on Kara’s shoulders for support as she let the blood flow return to her legs. She was most comfortable laboring next to the bed, but she could only stay in one spot for so long. Nodding to Kara’s silent question in her eyes, they both turned, Kara keeping one hand on Lena’s back as she walked the room, stopping briefly to breathe through another contraction, Lena’s hand coming to clutch at the back of Kara’s shirt.

Relaxing her hold, Lena leaned forward, letting Kara take her weight. She turned her head, looking at Alex.

“I’ve had nine months in that lab with you, working to understand what a half-Kryptonian child would be like, and somehow learning that they're the most stubborn children on the planet didn’t come up?”

Alex found herself laughing, Lena’s chuckle echoing hers.

“I think that’s more of an inherited trait.”

Lena scoffed, raising her head from Kara’s chest.

“Yeah, obviously from your side of the family.”

Alex shook her head, smiling. “Nope! She’s adopted remember? I don’t get to be the cause of this one.”

Lena opened her mouth to fire back another retort when she felt another contraction, followed by an immense amount of pressure. She felt herself blindly reach past Kara, her hands wrapping around the rail at the foot of the bed. She heard Alex and Eliza stand, noticing the change with this contraction, before Kara’s soft voice soothed her.

“You’ve got this, zhao. You’re so strong.”

Exactly seventeen minutes later, Lena’s resolve broke, a scream tearing from her throat as she gripped Kara’s arms. She felt her body automatically shift, her knees sliding a little bit further apart on the floor. She felt like she was being ripped in half.

Kara couldn’t help but wince, her heart breaking at hearing Lena’s pain. She knew Lena didn’t want to be that way when she had the twins. She wanted it to be a peaceful experience. Kara looked down from where she was laying across the bed, Lena panting in her ear. Eliza was on the floor; her face torn between the mask of a doctor and wonder at nearly becoming a grandmother.

“Next push, Lena and you’ll have a baby.” Eliza encouraged.

Lena swallowed, catching her breath as the next contraction started. She bared down, another scream echoing through the apartment. The sounds of another cry cut through, and relief flooded through Lena’s body. She turned, seeing the red-faced whimpering form of her child, dirty blonde hair sticking out all different ways.. Reaching forward, she took him from Eliza, coming to sit back on the floor with her back against the bed. She felt Kara float down, joining her on the floor, a shaking hand coming forward to stroke the side of their child’s face, surprised at the lack of screaming from the baby.

Lena looked up at Kara, both of them silently crying. “We have a son.”

Kara sobbed, kissing the side of Lena’s head.

The joy was cut short as Lena felt the urge to push again return. Alex stepped forward, taking the baby from Lena to check over as she groaned, one hand searching blindly for Kara.

Twenty minutes later, another cry filled the apartment, much louder than the first. Lena laughed as she looked down at the grumpy face of her second child, tiny hands clinched tightly around a head of dark hair, clearly upset about leaving the comforts of Lena’s womb.

Looking up at Kara, she felt her heart swell. “Our daughter has your pout.”

After a while, Kara carefully lifted her wife from the floor, setting her gently in the bed to rest, their daughter calm in her mother’s arms. Alex held her son as Kara crawled into the bed next to Lena, reaching for him once she was settled. She looked down at the baby, his eyes open, blinking slowly as he adjusted to being in this world.

She turned, hearing her daughter grunt. She felt a smile form as she took in her daughters scrunched up face as she woke, her head turning side to side as she searched for her food.

Lena shifted around, leading her daughter’s head to her chest, giving her exactly what she wanted. She watched as her daughter fed, feeling an unexplainable amount of love flowing through her. Lena looked up, her gaze resting on her son in Kara’s arms.

“I think I have an idea for names.”

Lena looked up at Kara, seeing how happy she looked.

“Layla and Lucas.”

Lena felt herself tear up. She had pointed the name Layla out to Kara several months ago as a possibility for a girl’s name. It was beautiful and fitting considering how the entire pregnancy she was awake during the night, always moving around and kicking just under Lena’s right ribs. Kara had found the name Lucas shortly after and both of them agreed that they loved it.

Lena looked down at their children then back up to her wife. Leaning over slightly, she kissed Kara softly.

“Layla and Lucas Luthor-Danvers.”

 

 

 

FIVE YEARS LATER

Lena heard the door to her bedroom open as she buttoned her pants, the sound of small shuffling feet giving her an idea of who was sneaking in. Turning her head, she spots Layla climbing onto the bed, sitting just at the end with her feet swinging. Lena, in just her bra and pants, walks over and kisses her daughter on the head, turning back to the closet to continue getting dressed, her morning routine not bothered by her daughter’s need to be near her.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, love?” Lena asks, pulling a shirt out of the closet.

“How’d you get that scar on your shoulder?”

Lena freezes, halfway through buttoning her shirt. Layla always spoke what was on her mind. She was more outspoken than her brother. Taking a deep breath, Lena continued getting dressed.

“A really bad man hurt me. But he’s nobody to worry about anymore. Aunt Alex put him in jail.”

“What about the ones on Ieiu?”

Lena sighed, turning to Layla. She walked over and kneeled down, resting her hands on Layla’s knees, now eye level with her.

“The same man and his brother hurt your Ieiu. One day, when you’re much older, we’ll tell you and your brother more.”

“But, how? Ieiu is Supergirl. How could he give her scars?”

Lena wished Kara was in there with her right now. She could hear the music playing in the kitchen, Kara and Lucas singing.

“The men who took your Ieiu found a way to take her powers away. Without them, she’s basically human. Which means her body healed like a human. After she got her powers back, her body had already healed like it was.”

Layla was silent, taking in the new information.

“I think it’s cool. My parents have battle scars!”

Jumping up she ran back to the kitchen to join Kara and Lucas. Lena takes a seat on the bed, just taking a moment to gather herself. Kara came in after a few minutes, noticing how Lena hadn’t come out after Layla.

“Hey, Lee. Breakfast is ready.” She walks over and kisses Lena on her head. Lena wraps her arms around Kara’s middle, resting her head on Kara’s chest and listening to her heartbeat.

“Layla asked about our scars.” Lena felt Kara tense. “I told her just a little bit. She thinks it’s cool that we have battle scars. I think we just became badasses in her eyes.” Lena chuckles lightly, Kara relaxing back into it.

“Yeah, but you’re the most badass in this relationship. I may be supergirl, but you Lena, do so much more than I ever could. You are my hero, literally.” Kara leaned down and kissed Lena lightly.

“MOMMY! LAYLA IS EATING MY PANCAKES!”

“NO I’M NOT. LUCAS TOOK A BITE OF MINE SO I TOOK A BITE OF HIS. IT’S ONLY FAIR!”

The two women break apart chuckling.

“Thank Rao their powers won’t develop until they start getting older.” The two stayed still, listening to the siblings bicker back and forth.

 Kara broke the silence first. “What do you think about having another?” Kara asked Lena.

“I told you years ago, Kara. One boy and one girl. That was my dream.” Lena said, a quick wave of disappointment flashing in Kara’s eyes before disappearing. “But, it seems that dreams can change, sometimes for the better.”

Kara’s eyes widened, leaning back from Lena. “What …?”

“I’m pregnant. I had Alex test my blood yesterday. It seems that your alien biology took advantage of me missing that day of birth control two months ago.”

Dropping to her knees, Kara put her head against Lena’s stomach. Tuning out the world around her, Kara heard it, the faint but rapid thumping of a heart. Kara turned her head, kissing the still flat stomach before rising and kissing Lena, tears in both their eyes.

“I hear the little heartbeat! There’s a baby in there!”

Lena laughed, using her thumbs to wipe away the tear tracks on Kara’s face. “Only one this time?”

Kara nodded, raising up slightly as the sound of feet running towards them pulled them from their bubble.

In a flash of blonde and brown hair, the twins ran in the room, jumping up on the bed behind Lena. Layla came up behind Lena, wrapping her arms around her mother’s shoulders and leaning on her back. Lucas ran forward, bouncing as he sat beside Lena, looking between his mothers.

“Why are you crying?”

Lena laughed, wiping away the tears on her face, Kara mirroring her.

“They’re happy tears. I told your Ieiu some good news.”

Layla started bouncing behind Lena. “What news Mommy?!”

“Yeah what news!” Lucas mimicked, bouncing up and into Kara’s arms.

Lena reached back, pulling Layla around her and sitting her in her lap.

“I just told her she was going to become a mom again.”

The twins sat silently, Layla’s eyes wide as she understood. Lucas looked between the two, trying to fully comprehend what that sentence meant.

“I’M GOING TO HAVE A BABY BROTHER OR SISTER!”

Lena nodded, laughing as Layla jumped out of her arms and laid her head in Lena’s lap, her face nearly squished against Lena’s stomach. “Hi! I’m your big sister! I can’t wait to see you!”

Lena looked up at Lucas, seeing a giant grin on his face, too shocked to say anything. Looking up at Kara, Lena stared at the bright blue eyes, seeing nothing but happiness radiating from her wife.

They had a good life. It may have taken them fighting through hell, but the devil himself couldn’t keep them from achieving their dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me through this rollercoaster of ANGST. I'm actually quite proud of having finished this, and I know it wouldn't of been possible without the comments and Kudos I've received. Thank you all!


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